WA is becoming a more attractive place to invest for a majority of Eastern States’ companies, a CCIWA national survey has found.
The survey, commissioned by CCIWA and carried out by CoreData, found close to three in five (57.3 per cent) businesses across the nation are expressing an increased interest in shifting their investment to WA.
NSW displayed the highest shift in its perception of WA as a place to invest, at 74 per cent, compared with Victoria at 60 per cent and Queensland at 55 per cent.
The perception of WA as a good place to invest has improved among 81 per cent of large businesses with more than 200 employees.
For small and medium business, lifestyle was seen as a driving factor to make WA an attractive place to invest, at 40 per cent, followed by a strong local economy (34 per cent) and the proximity to the resources sector (23 per cent).
But WA’s payroll tax rates are still seen as a deterrent for national companies, with 82.5 per cent of large businesses and 43.5 per cent of small and medium business agreeing WA’s payroll tax negatively impacted the State’s reputation.
CCIWA CEO Chris Rodwell said payroll tax reform must be on the agenda for WA to capture this significant national investment opportunity.
“To capture this opportunity, Western Australia should seize the moment and compete harder,” he said.
“Our rate of payroll tax is not competitive.
“A shift in rate, or a move to CCIWA’s proposed model for payroll tax would get more of these businesses over the line, and could prove key to supercharging our economy in coming years. We could use this as a basis to lift our effort across international markets and position Perth and WA as a key global location in Indo-Pacific region.”
CCIWA’s national survey also found that Australians are backing the COVID-19 vaccine to re-open the economy.
See our media release for more detailed survey results.
CCIWA’s COVID-19 page contains up-to-date information for businesses.
For help and guidance on navigating COVID-19 restrictions, contact CCIWA’s Employee Relations Advice Centre on (08) 9365 7660 or [email protected].
