The New South Wales government has revealed a slew of initiatives to back small and medium businesses and to create jobs in the state.
The announcement comes as part of the state government’s 2016-17 budget, which is making use of a $3.4 billion surplus from the sale of energy assets.
The government has allocated $10 million to help SMEs export goods and services. Minister for trade, tourism and major events Stuart Ayres said that NSW business exported $3.2 billion in services over the past 12 months, and that the ICT sector in particular grew 59 percent.
Key initiatives include promoting investment opportunities in the government’s 10 international offices, establishing a whole-of-government approach to international trade, reduce investment barriers and delivering trade missions for businesses in key markets.
“We want to give small and medium business operators the tools they need to focus on growing their business internationally. The budget underscores the value the NSW government places on international trade as a way to grow our economy and create jobs,” said Ayres.
The payroll tax rebate has been restructured to target businesses with 50 or fewer full-time employees, and increased from $5,000 to $6,000.
The Jobs Action Plan sees businesses with new employees commencing after 31 July receiving a $2,000 rebate on their first employment anniversary, and a $4,000 rebate on the second anniversary.
Companies that do not pay payroll tax can apply for the Small Business Grant, which gives businesses up to $2,000 for each new employee.
A raft of new tech projects will be funded in health, emergency services and government service delivery following the budget surplus. This includes $31.8 million in project funding for Service NSW and $10 million for a health system-wide digital platform for rural patients and doctors.
Read the full list of IT projects funded in the budget here.
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