Queensland voters go to the polls in just over a month, and despite a lot of political announcements there has been a depressing lack of serious policy discussion. Labor has offered a cynical list of short-term handouts, while the Liberal Nationals are pursuing a small-target strategy of vague motherhood statements.
Into this mix the Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance (ATA) is launching our ‘Cut These Taxes’ campaign, which outlines four specific tax cuts that are logical, affordable, fair-minded, and would help drive down the cost of living and push up productivity.
Permanently lower car rego fees
The best Labor policy in recent years was the announcement that they would cut the annual cost of car registration. Unfortunately, this policy is set to expire in September 2025, which will push up rego fees by $85 for small cars, $173 for large cars, and $41 for motorbikes. The lower rego fees should be made permanent.
No stamp duty on new affordable homes
The price of housing is influenced by the cost of new homes, and stamp duty increases that cost. Stamp duty should be entirely removed for people buying newly built homes with a value up to the average Queensland house price. This will increase the incentive to build affordable housing, and put downward pressure on all house prices, without harming the building industry.
No payroll tax on small business
Small businesses are the lifeblood of a competitive economy, and yet they are too often held back by excessive tax and regulation. The threshold for Queensland payroll tax should be increased from the current $1.3 million up to at least $2 million (making it the highest in Australia), so that more small businesses can fully escape the bureaucracy and cost of the payroll tax system. This will lead to more competition, choice, jobs, and innovation.
Lower payroll tax on medium business
The Queensland payroll tax system is confusing and regressive, with many medium-sized businesses paying a higher marginal rate than large businesses! This is due to the withdrawal of the payroll tax threshold. The government should fix this anomaly by keeping the payroll tax threshold constant for all businesses, which would lower the marginal payroll tax by approximately 0.7 per cent for medium-sized businesses.
This is an opportunity for both major parties to step out of the tired and tiring political game of false promises and vague motherhood statements, and show real leadership on public policy. The above proposals are substantive reforms that will create tangible benefits, while also being sensible, pragmatic, and affordable.
We call on the Liberal Nationals and Labor to embrace the ATA’s tax cutting agenda, and commit to legislating the above four tax cuts within the first year of the next government.
For our part, the ATA will be taking these policy proposals to the political parties and independents running in the 2024 Queensland election, and directly to the voting public, in the hope of putting serious policy ideas back in the political agenda. We invite you to join our campaign.
Dr John Humphreys is the Chief Economist at the Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance. He worked previously as a policy analyst for the Australian Treasury and a lecturer at the University of Queensland.
