The NSW opposition have given their cautious support to the Berejiklian government’s initiative to abolish stamp duty and payroll tax in a bid to revive the state’s economy following the coronavirus pandemic.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet on Saturday laid out a plan to scrap what he described as inefficient taxes.
With unemployment forecast to hit 10 per cent by the end of the year, the outbreak of the deadly disease has punched a hole in the economy.
However Mr Perrottet told Nine that “we are not going to tax our way back into prosperity.”
Encouraging signs.
We still have some distance until we’re on other side of this downturn, but we’re working to smooth the road there as much as we can. #NSWpol #Auspol https://t.co/5LTkc30csA
— Dom Perrottet (@Dom_Perrottet) May 1, 2020
The Treasurer said that stamp duty was at the top of his hit list and his plan will also focus on productivity, deregulation, digitisation, trade and investment.
State opposition leader Jodi McKay said she wanted to see more details of the treasurer’s proposal but was willing to negotiate in exchange for her support.
“We are very much up for this discussion; we don’t want it to be a thought bubble put out there,” she said.
“It is a conversation that we want to actively engage in.
“We know we can’t fall back into the inefficiencies of our budget and economy. We have to look at bold and brave decisions and reform.”
NSW shadow treasurer Walt Secord said all options were on the table after the state was battered by the summer bushfire crisis, a downturn in the construction industry and COVID-19.
“We have people who’ve entered Centrelink who have never in their entire lives thought they would ever go into a Centrelink for assistance,” he said.
“I want to see the treasurer seize this opportunity, we stand ready to work in partnership. I want to work with him to improve the economy, create jobs, attract investment.”
-with AAP
