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Two Covid cases in Victoria s latest outbreak declared false positives
Commentator Peta Credlin blasted the government for being incompetent
She asked why the Victorian government doesn t pay it s newly jobless residents
Accused the contact tracers of not being able to cope with minimal daily cases
The Department of Health said on Thursday night the cases were retested
Daniel Andrews reveals return date amid Covid crisis Premier Dan Andrews broken his silence on the state’s Covid crisis while also hinting at when he will return to the top job after a horror injury.
Politics by Laura Placella
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Subscriber only Premier Daniel Andrews has posted to Facebook on Wednesday night - for the first time since April - telling Victoria to keep fighting . The Premier revealed in the comments that he will be back on deck later this month , after suffering a serious spinal injury on March 9. I m sorry I can t be there with everyone right now but I m so grateful to James for his leadership, Mr Andrews said.
Victorian government’s payroll tax hit a bitter pill for growing businesses
Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Source: AAP/Erik Anderson.
For several years now, state governments across the country have been both gradually reducing the rate of payroll tax levied on businesses, and lifting the thresholds at which payroll tax kicks in.
In yesterday’s Victorian budget, this practice continued, with the government announcing the state’s payroll-free threshold will lift to $700,000 and the rate of payroll tax cut to 1.2% for regional businesses.
Governments have seemingly started to accept that payroll tax is a disincentive for hiring. It is seen, quite rightly, as a tax on jobs. This is because the tax is, by its very nature, regressive: the more employees your business has and the bigger your payroll gets, the more tax you pay.
Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Source: AAP/Erik Anderson.
Small businesses are hopeful the Victorian government’s upcoming budget will include measures to address labour shortages, increase the payroll tax-free threshold and create more opportunities to expand local manufacturing.
The state budget, to be unveiled on Thursday, will include funding for transport, hospitals and changes to stamp duty. However, no pre-budget announcements have so far been made for the small business sector.
Treasurer Tim Pallas announced a premium stamp duty will be introduced for property transactions above $2 million to help improve the budget’s bottom line. This year, the deficit is expected to reach more than $17 billion.