It follow’s the Victorian decision in May to raise their threshold to $650,000 with regional businesses only having to pay 2.45 per cent.

At the time, Andrew Cotrill, the Murray and Riverina regional manager for the NSW Business Chamber, said the discrepancies hurt Albury businesses. 

“Being penalised for creating new jobs is just ridiculous,” he said.

The Victorian changes lead Albury’s Seeley International to move to Wodonga, while Albury also missed out on the $25 million XLam cross laminated timber mill which was built at the Logic centre.

Ahead of Tuesday’s state budget Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the NSW payroll threshold would increase to $1million over the next four years. 

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Mr Cottrill said the change would allow businesses to invest more in jobs and growth. 

“An increase from $750,000 to $850,000 in the first year, and then by $50,000 per year for the next 3 years means a business with an annual payroll of around $750,000 can hire two extra young job seekers without being slugged by a tax penalty and extra administrative costs,” he said. 

Currently in NSW, the threshold is $750,000 annually with a tax rate of 5.45 per cent.

Albury member Greg Aplin, who was deputy chair of The Committee on Investment, Industry and Regional Development, said the change would allow businesses to spend money on growing their business instead of tax, and encourage decentralisation. 

He said the committee had recommended the higher $1 million threshold and he was pleased to see it included in the budget. 

“Importantly I think we need to continue to be attractive so businesses move from other areas to our area,” he said

Ahead of the budget, Mr Aplin said he hopes to see further investment in Albury’s new emergency department and hospital upgrades, and funding investment in mental health