Ms GERICK (9:38 PM) —As a former small business person, I am pleased to support the changes to the payment dates for taxes from monthly to quarterly, which will lessen the burden of paperwork and red tape for small businesses to deal with. For the past nine years the business I have owned needed to complete paperwork only for PAYE employees. The paperwork needed to do this is not much, and the need has reduced dramatically over the years with the use of computers.

In the early days of the business, our group tax bill was payable quarterly. A few years later it changed to a monthly expense. This was a change we welcomed, as it certainly helped with the cash flow of our small and beginning business. Cash flow is a problem for most small businesses, and this change may well have a negative impact on a number of small businesses. While there is logic to the argument that the same amount has to be paid and the money can be put aside monthly, the small business people I speak to say that this is more a dream than a reality.

Could the minister confirm that there has been extensive consultation with small business groups as to the impact of this change of payment date? A number of small business owners I know and have contacted have not joined the local chamber of commerce groups because of the cost involved and instead belong to smaller community groups. Have these small community groups had a chance to comment on the proposed changes? I have today spoken to a number of small business owners who were unaware of these proposed amendments and there was concern that the government had not informed them or consulted with them. A number were very concerned at the effect the changes would have on their cash flow and expressed the hope that there would be an option given to them as to which payment method was chosen. A number of small businesses only need to pay PAYE tax and their normal income tax at the end of the financial year. This proposed alteration means that all small businesses will need to change their method of PAYE tax payment, even though they only have to make this one payment. Will there be an opportunity for small businesses to elect which payment method best suits their business?

Small business is the biggest employer in Australia and it is important that the changes being implemented are going to benefit rather than hinder. The amount of paperwork required to make the current payments will blur into insignificance when compared to the demands that compliance with a GST will make on the average small business. Retailers form part of the small business group which will most benefit from these changes. As they need to fill in a multitude of forms and quite often need to use an accountant to ensure that they comply, their costs will be reduced significantly. The West Australian Retailers Association has welcomed the changes for its members. From experience, I would much rather have to prepare the current paperwork without having to spend up to $5,000 to get ready to comply with a GST and then know that I would be spending many extra hours doing the paperwork required with the GST.

While big business groups are supportive of a GST, the small business people who are not currently responsible for collecting a sales tax will find the new impositions costly both in money and in working hours. Small businesses are going to face a huge burden as the unpaid tax collectors for Treasury if the GST is implemented. The alignment of payment dates will make it somewhat easier for small businesses to complete the required paperwork. However, it is only a drop in the ocean when compared to the additional responsibilities and requirements they will face as a GST tax collector.

The most important lesson from this is that the alignment of payment dates does demonstrate that it is possible to lessen the load of paperwork on small business people and to make improvements to the taxation system without needing to impose an unfair tax on the whole country—a tax which will not help all small businesses and certainly will be most unfair on those who can least afford it. I am pleased to see that attempts are being made to lessen the demands of paperwork being made on small businesses in Australia.