5,000 Knox small business owners worse off under Mining Tax package

22-November-2011

Nearly five thousand small business owners in Knox earning less than $75,000 will be up to $837 a year worse off with the passage of the Gillard Government’s Mining Tax package.

As part of the mining tax package, the Entrepreneurs Tax Offset (ETO) has been abolished meaning 4,922 small business owners in Knox (38 per cent of all businesses) and 402,000 small businesses nationwide will have to pay 25% more tax. The ETO provides a 25 percent tax break for very small businesses earning less than $75,000 per annum.

These are mainly very small businesses, many operating from home, self employed semi-retirees, “start-ups”, sole traders, trades people and small retailers. With the abolition of the Entrepreneurs Tax Offset, small business owners will have to pay 25% more tax.

A small business owner who earns $50,000 will have to pay an extra $837 in tax.

Federal Member for Aston, Alan Tudge MP, will be raising this issue in Parliament tonight while debating the Mining Tax legislation.

Mr Tudge said, “Small businesses are already doing it very tough and will soon be hit with the carbon tax. The last thing the Federal government should be doing is penalising these very small business further through raising their income tax by 25%.

"Almost 5,000 local small business owners in Knox will be hurt by the government's tax increase. Small business owners earning $50,000 will now have to pay over $800 more

“These are people who not earning a lot of money, but they have the courage to start a business and give it a go. We should be rewarding these people, not raising their tax by 25%.

"I will be strongly arguing against this tax increase in parliament. It is bad for our local businesses and therefore bad for our local economy," Mr Tudge said.