“They’re not bloody lawyers”: Lambie puts SME red tape on the hit list

Senator Jacqui Lambie says payroll tax rules and conflicting definitions of small business are on her red tape hit list, after calling on the federal government to make life easier for entrepreneurs through any hike to the minimum wage.

Small business owners are “not bloody lawyers and barristers” equipped to handle increasingly complex regulations, including changeable payroll tax rules, Lambie said.

In its submission to the Fair Work Commission’s annual minimum wage review, the Albanese government says real wages should not go backwards in 2024, effectively calling for minimum wage hikes on par with inflation.

Without objecting to a pay bump for Australia’s lowest-paid workers, Lambie on Monday declared that the proposed increase — which would hike the minimum wage around 4%, or $35 a week — should be partnered with reforms benefiting the small businesses footing the bill.

Speaking to SmartCompany on Tuesday, Lambie said payroll tax reform could benefit small businesses subject to any minimum wage bump.

Payroll tax is handled by the states and territories, with varying tax rates and business size thresholds between jurisdictions.

“It’s about time” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used national cabinet to call for a reduction in payroll tax rates across the board, Lambie said.

But the senator is also calling for a standardised definition of what a small business actually is, which she says would cut down on red tape and payroll tax confusion between states and territories.

Such a definition would also cut through the multiple descriptors of ‘small business’ scattered across federal legislation.

“Is there a better way of doing this?” she said.

“We need some consistency over what is a small business.

“And I don’t know what the government is finding that so hard.

“I mean, seriously, if they really gave a stuff about small business they’d be doing something.”

Lambie said she and independent Senator David Pocock “will keep hitting on that” through the year.

More broadly, the Tasmanian senator voiced her fears that increasing regulatory and compliance burdens will needlessly constrain small businesses through tough economic circumstances.

“They’re not bloody lawyers and barristers,” Lambie said.

“Most Australians can’t afford to go to court these days, let alone a small business, so that’s a real worry.”

Lambie, whose influence in the Senate has helped to reshape major industrial relations reforms, said she “will continue to fight like hell” for SMEs in the lead-up to what could be a monumentally important federal budget for small businesses.

“We will continue to fight like hell for them and try and get some more red tape removed for them, and that’s what we’re doing,” Lambie said.