Economic

• Economic growth is forecast to strengthen to 3% in 2019-20. This financial year is expected to be the third consecutive year where Queensland growth outstrips national economic growth
• Unemployment rate stabilise around 6%
• Population growth forecast -1¾%
• A General Government net operating surplus of $841 million is expected for 2018-19
• Revenue 2019-20 estimate $60,387m
• Expenses 2019-20 estimate $60,198m
• Net operating surplus $189m
• Borrowing from QTC $71,954m up from $68,141m

Taxes, Fees & Charges

Payroll tax

Payroll tax revenue 2019-20 expected to be $4,284m

• The exemption threshold for payroll tax increased from $1.1 million to $1.3 million of annual wages from 1 July 2019 This change will reduce the payroll tax paid by businesses with annual wages up to $6.5 million by either keeping them below the threshold or reducing the amount payable due to increasing the deduction threshold
• The 50% payroll tax rebate extended on the exempt wages of apprentices and trainees until 30 June 2021
• Introduced from 1 July 2019, a 1% discount on the relevant payroll tax rate for businesses that have more than 85% of their employees outside South-East Queensland. This will benefit regional payroll tax paying businesses
• Applying from 1 July 2019, until 30 June 2021, a rebate of the payroll tax on additional employees that businesses can demonstrate they have employed over and above their level of full-time employees

Royalties

Total Royalties and Land Rents est 2019-10 $5,621m

• The petroleum royalty rate will increase by 2.5% to 12.5% from 2019-20 onwards

Taxes

• Total 2019-10 taxation revenue estimate $15,164 – expected to be $1.159 billion higher than in 2018-19, reflecting the introduction of the new waste disposal levy
• From 1 July 2019, increase in land tax rates for companies, trusts and absentees by 0.25 cents for each dollar above $5 million, and 0.25 cents for each dollar above $10 million
• From 2019-20, the land tax absentee surcharge rate will be harmonised with Victoria and New South Wales with a 0.5% increase, and application of the surcharge widened to include foreign corporations and trustees of foreign trusts
• Increased resourcing for Treasury to undertake a program of additional targeted tax compliance activities to ensure all Queenslanders are paying their fair share of taxes
• Motor vehicle registration est 2019-20 $1,908m (up from $1,847)
• Waste Disposal levy est. $433m

Duties

Total duties 2019-20 $4,663 est.

• Transfer est $3,038
• Vehicle Registration est $583m
• Insurance est $1,005
• Other est $36m

Capital Budget

$49.544 billion committed over the next four years to fund construction of the critical infrastructure and capital works needed to rebuild and grow the State’s regions.

Employment, Small Business and Training

Employment

• continuing to deliver the Back to Work program designed to give Queensland employers the confidence to hire eligible unemployed jobseekers
• delivering a Create Your Future Job program to pilot targeted support and specialist business advice and mentoring to Queenslanders who want to create their own future job
• continuing to support employment opportunities for young people and mature-aged jobseekers
• continuing to provide policy oversight to Queensland nominated business and/or skills migration visas in partnership with Business and Skilled Migration Queensland
• assisting disengaged Year 12 completers to navigate their way back into education, training or employment by providing support services to young people through the new Link & Launch pilot
• providing $1 million for the Social Enterprise Strategy to support the further development and growth of the social enterprise sector in Queensland to create jobs, support inclusive and diverse workforce participation and deliver social impact outcomes

Small Business

Small Business continues to deliver the Advancing Small Business Queensland Strategy 2016-20, including:

• funding of $4 million in 2019-20 to support grants under the Advancing

Small Business Queensland Strategy 2016- 20

• implementing the Queensland Small Business Procurement Commitment to support small business participation in government procurement and the Queensland Government On-time Payment Policy to improve government payment practices and timeframes
• supporting small business recovery from the monsoon trough in North Queensland and North Western Queensland through delivery of a $10 million disaster recovery package for business and industry support under the jointly funded Commonwealth-Queensland Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements
• supporting the Small Business Regulatory Reform initiative, as part of the Queensland and Australian Government project agreement to make it easier for businesses to start, grow and employ, and to create a platform that makes discovery of vocational education and training consumer information more accessible beyond government which will simplify the process for businesses to hire an apprentice or trainee
• supporting the creation of new businesses, helping existing businesses to grow and employ through the delivery of three targeted grants programs (Small Business Digital Grants Program, Small Business Entrepreneur Grants Program and the Business Growth Fund), the Mentoring for Growth Program and promoting linkages to other Queensland programs
• supporting the Small Business Champion, the Queensland Small Business Advisory Council and the Better Regulation Taskforce to advocate for the interests of small business across all levels of government
• improving the Queensland Government’s online services to business via the Business Queensland website to make it easier for customers to access the right service at the right time via a single online location
• continuing to deliver small business consultation panels to provide government departments with easier access to experienced small business owners and operators to inform policy and legislation
• delivering Queensland Small Business Week to provide networking and knowledge exchange opportunities
• developing programs that support capability growth for small business to enable increased economic participation that leads to jobs

Training

• continue the Free tafe initiative to cover the full cost of training in one of 160 high priority qualifications to ensure eligible Year 12 graduates get the skills to start their career for free
• investing $80 million ($420 million over six years from 2015-16) to deliver the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative to support up to 10,000 disadvantaged Queenslanders (up to 54,000 over the six-year commitment) to get into work
• investing more than $105 million in 2019-20 in upgrades and improvements in Queensland’s training infrastructure to ensure that it provides fit-for-purpose assets and the best possible learning environment to support training providers, students and employers with high-quality education and skills to meet industry needs
• delivering a Skills Strategy for Queensland that empowers a skilled workforce needed to attract investment and encourage job creation
• investing $5.5 million (over three years from 2019-20 to 2021-22) for a Micro-Credentialing Pilot to support industry-led skills development designed to address emerging workforce skills requirements
• establishing a Higher Level Apprenticeship Pilot to provide opportunities to partner with industry to develop new pathways to layer specialised skills and knowledge with the traditional apprenticeship model
• increasing engagement of young people in vocational education and training and in identifying pathways to careers, including in Vocational Education and Training (VET) in schools
• collaborating with Jobs Queensland to gather strategic advice on future skills demand and workforce planning
• continuing implementation of $9 million (over four years from 2017-18 to 2020-21) for the Regional Skills Investment Strategy to align training outcomes for Queenslanders with local employment skills demand
• working with stakeholders to promote quality training delivery with a focus on the Queensland VET Quality Framework
• supporting public providers in the delivery of training services in our communities with the provision of a State Contribution Grant
• continuing to work with Government agencies to allocate at least 10 per cent of total labour hours on eligible projects, and up to 15 per cent on significant projects to be undertaken by apprentices and/or trainees, with a further 10 per cent of total labour hours to be allocated for projects in indigenous communities
• implementing strategies that provide services to better inform students and employers about qualifications, study options and training providers suited to their needs
• delivering the Queensland Training Awards events that celebrate vocational education and training for Queensland training providers and trainees.

Source: Motor Trader E-Magazine (July 2019)

8 Jul 2019