There’s never been a better time to invest in regional Victoria, with regional businesses benefiting from the regional payroll tax cuts.

More than 4,400 businesses in regional Victoria are estimated to share in $154 million in savings this financial year.

This includes savings of more than $31 million in Greater Geelong, almost $15 million in Ballarat and $11 million saved for Bendigo businesses.

The regional payroll tax will be further cut to just a quarter of the metropolitan rate, phased in over three years.

For the current financial year, the regional payroll tax sits at 2.425 per cent – half the metro rate.

From 1 July 2020, the regional payroll tax rate will be cut by 0.4 percentage points each year until it hits a quarter of the metro rate in 2022-23 – making it the lowest payroll tax rate in Australia.

Eligibility requirements have also been relaxed so that more businesses can access the regional tax rate even if their business is registered in the metro area or interstate.

They now qualify as long as 85 per cent of their wages are paid to employees working in regional Victoria.

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