Mike Baird MP
Katrina Hodgkinson MP
NSW Treasurer
Minister for Primary Industries
Minister for Industrial Relations Minister for Small Business
MEDIA RELEASE
Thursday 4 July 2013
NSW – SECOND HIGHEST BUSINESSES CONFIDENCE
Treasurer Mike Baird and NSW Minister for Small Business Katrina Hodgkinson today
said the latest Sensis Business Index highlights the strength of NSW’s jobs growth
and continued resilience of the NSW economy.
NSW small to medium enterprises (SMEs) recorded the second highest confidence of
all the states (28 per cent) for the second quarter in a row. Despite a fall in business
confidence in the past quarter, NSW is well above the national average.
“This is a strong result for the people of NSW, which shows small and medium
businesses across our State have experienced increased employment, wages and
capital expenditure in the past quarter,” said Mr Baird.
“Notwithstanding the drop in SMEs confidence levels across the country, this result
underscores the ongoing resilience of the NSW economy and strength of our jobs
growth.
“Unfortunately, NSW businesses are not immune to ongoing national economic
uncertainty, and the chaos we’ve seen coming out of Canberra under Federal Labor
remains a concern. But the good news is NSW businesses are continuing to employ,
and that means more job opportunities for the people of this state,” said Mr Baird.
Ms Hodgkinson said the NSW Government will continue boosting confidence and
supporting the creation of thousands of jobs.
“Today’s result shows NSW businesses recorded the highest performance in sales of
any state or territory for the second consecutive quarter, but we know that many
businesses are doing it tough” said Ms Hodgkinson.
“Important changes announced in our June Budget will provide some relief to business
and encourage more to employ. Around 1300 businesses that would have paid payroll
tax from 1 July will not be liable for the tax, and more generous rebates are now
available for those businesses that take on extra staff.”
Under the changes, the payroll tax threshold for businesses increased from
$689,000 to $750,000 on 1 July, and the payroll tax rebate for businesses
that employ an additional worker in a new job rose by 25 per cent, from
$4,000 to $5,000.
Rebates under the Jobs Action Plan were also extended by two years in the
Budget, until 1 July 2015.