Increased job opportunities.
The Federal Government’s push to cut company tax is gaining momentum with backing from retail industry groups who predict the move would increase job opportunities in the sector.
Australian Retailers Association executive director, Russell Zimmerman said a competitive corporate tax rate is essential to sustain growth and drive prosperity for the $310 billion retail sector.
Zimmerman said the government needs to intervene and offer some relief to the struggling industry. “At 30%, Australia has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the advanced economic world, making it difficult for retailers to invest in job growth and increase wages that would benefit the economy,” he said. “The current trading environment has seen many retailers doing it tough, with last year’s retail figures averaging 2.76% year-on-year growth and growth down more than 1% on the 50 year average in 2017. Retailers are already struggling in a volatile trading environment.”
The National Retail Association echoed these comments with CEO, Dominque Lamb stating that tax cuts would assist many large-scale retailers to employ more staff. “These larger businesses are the backbone of entry-level employment opportunities and we would expect a quick upscale in employment should the Senate legislate these tax cuts,” she said. “The retail industry asks very little of government and despite being one of our largest employers it has no dedicated minister or department at either state or federal levels.”
The Federal Government needs at least nine of the 12 Senate crossbenchers to vote in favour of the legislation to reduce the rate of tax paid by all corporations to 25% over the next decade.