The Liberal Government must do more to provide immediate and direct support for small businesses impacted by COVID-19 to make sure they can survive this unprecedented crisis.
Labor Leader, Rebecca White, said Peter Gutwein’s stimulus measures announced to date were not enough.
“Sole traders and those who are self-employed have been forgotten by both the State and Federal Liberal Governments,” Ms White said.
“A full two-thirds of the $420 million package comes from not proceeding with budget cuts in the public sector over the next three years – it is neither immediate nor direct support for businesses.
“In both the State and Federal stimulus packages, there was almost nothing for the nearly 20,000 sole operators in Tasmania who rely on their business for income.
“These businesses don’t pay payroll tax, they don’t withhold income tax, and particularly at such a challenging time, they often don’t have the resources to take advantage of tax concessions for large equipment purchases.
“One of the things that will hit these people really hard in coming weeks and months is an inability to pay bills.
“Peter Gutwein must urgently introduce an additional package of measures which includes instructing GBEs to defer utility bills for the coming quarter and allowing businesses in affected industries to defer land tax payments for 12 months.
“I also urge Peter Gutwein to call on councils to provide rates remissions to affected businesses and immediately begin working with landlords and finance lenders to ensure no one is evicted from their business premises if they can’t generate an income.”
Rebecca White MP
Labor Leader
