New South Wales Deputy Premier John Barilaro

Small Business Changes From 1 July

Victor P Taffa

New South Wales (NSW) small business will benefit from a range of legislative changes that will come into effect today, Saturday 1 July.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Small Business John Barilaro said the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government made amendments to the Retail Leases Act earlier this year to improve fairness and create better relationships between tenants and landlords.

“Under the new changes, landlords will have to register a lease within 3 months of it being signed. This will give tenants more security if, for example, a landlord goes into liquidation.” Deputy Premier Barilaro said.

“Small businesses will also get greater access to justice with the Act increasing the financial cap on disputes that can be heard in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), from $400,000 to $750,000.”

“It’s very important for small retailers to know up-front what their financial obligations are before they enter into a lease, and the Act will now require landlords to accurately disclose and estimate outgoings in a disclosure statement.”

The Act also limits the extent to which a landlord can claim outgoings if these were not properly disclosed making for a fairer retail marketplace.

Deputy Premier Barilaro said the end of the financial year is a busy time for business owners but they need to be aware of changes that will come into effect today including federal changes.

“Changes resulting from the 2017-18 May Federal budget will include extension of the $20,000 instant asset write off for a second year, changes to the company tax rate, and the introduction of the skilled visa levy and temporary work visa levy.”

“Corporate tax rate for businesses with a turnover of between $10 Million and $25 Million will be eligible from a lower company tax rate of 27.5 %.” Deputy Premier Barilaro said.

“An annual temporary work visa levy of $1,200 or $1,800 per worker a year and one-off permanent skilled visa levy of $3,000 will also come into effect on 1 July.”

Deputy Premier Barilaro said there are about 44,500 retail businesses in NSW which employ about 390,000 people and generate $36 Billion in annual sales.

NSW Government is committed to making our State the easiest place to start, run and grow a business.