Small business owners in South Australia say they will struggle to keep afloat without assistance from the state government.
Simone Douglas owns four businesses in South Australia, including The Duke of Brunswick Hotel in Adelaide and The Port Admiral Hotel in the city’s west, but she was recently forced to sell one.
Douglas’s accountant told her she paid all of her businesses’ profit in taxes last financial year.
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She has had to cut staff hours and negotiate supplier costs to ensure all her businesses don’t collapse.
“I’m back working in the venues. I’ll be working an eight-hour shift today on the public holiday because we can’t justify paying someone double time,” she said.
“There’s a ridiculous amount of pressure on the wallets of businesses …. as much as there is on family wallets.”
Douglas pays $11,000 a quarter for electricity, and $8000 for gas for each pub despite having solar panels and LED lights installed.
She also pays about $1000 a month for insurance and $1000 for her employees’ work cover policies.
Douglas said staff wages have increased 25 per cent since the last payroll tax increase in 2019.
“I have to find an extra $7000 a month to pay that payroll tax bill that I didn’t to have to pay before,” Douglas said.
She said under the government’s current rules, her three businesses are grouped together for payroll tax, meaning she has to fork out an additional five per cent as part of a labour fee.
Meanwhile, Adelaide restaurant Gang Gang is set to close its Parkside venue.
Owner, Morgen Wynn-Hadinata, said payroll tax is one of the biggest costs for her business.
Currently, South Australian businesses have to pay a variable payroll tax fee of 0 to 4.95 per cent if their paid wages exceed $1.5million.
The South Australia opposition and SA Business Chamber are calling for the threshold to increase to $2.1million and a tax exemption for trainee employees.
Wynn-Hadinata said the increase would have made a big difference to her businesses.
Under the latest state budget, the state government is offering grants to businesses who invest in energy efficiency.
The opposition said it didn’t go far enough and many businesses were “disappointed” by the state budget.
“It’s become completely unaffordable and unsustainable for businesses to continue to operate in this current market, and we call on the government to do more, to do better to support South Australian businesses,” shadow finance minister Heidi Girolamo said.
Wynn-Hadinata said small businesses leasing venues were unlikely to use the energy efficiency grant because they did not own their premises.
Douglas said even after the energy efficiency changes she’s made to her pubs, her bills were incredibly high.
Deputy Premier Susan Close said “there is no evidence” lowering payroll tax would increase employment.
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