Bathurst's Peter Rogers says government needs to slash red tape

He has seen firsthand the struggles Bathurst business owners are facing just to stay afloat, and says changes need to be made before the city loses more shopfronts.

"Small business is the backbone of the country, employing a large number of people," Mr Rogers said.

"In the next state election, I would like to see both sides of Parliament do something to cut red tape, and do something to help small businesses, especially in rural areas."

Running a business is difficult enough, without the added complexities of rules and processes - or red tape - that delay results and seem unnecessary.

Mr Rogers said that, while all businesses are in the same boat, larger businesses often have the means to hire someone specifically to keep up with all of the rules and regulations.

Most smaller businesses can't do this, which means the owners are spending their time reading through compliance regulations, instead of running their shop.

"We are seeing businesses closing down every day because the owners have had enough of dealing with compliance, and are saying it's not worth the effort," Mr Rogers said.

"All governments need to see how they can help small business by cutting red tape, not just talking about it.

"Premier Dominic Perrottet stated in a media release, 'A re-elected Liberal and Nationals Government will slash red tape across NSW, cutting the cost of doing business while committing to a target of one million small businesses by 2030'.

"This is a fantastic statement, but why have we had to wait so long? The coalition have been in power already for years [since 2011], and have only added more tape since being in power. Why will it take until 2030?"

Mr Rogers said it's not just business owners suffering. The land and building owners are as well.

Due to the rise in residential property values over the last few years, this has seen land taxes increase.

However, Mr Rogers said in many cases this increase isn't viable for any parties involved, with the extra costs either passed on to the tenants or absorbed by the landlord.

And, he said, to object to the land tax is an impossible process to navigate.

"Land tax is a real issue ... The value of land is worked out on sales, however, most commercial values are worked out on the rental return," he said.

"If this factor is used, the value of a lot of commercial properties would in fact go down.

"However, any objections to land tax have to be lodged online, yet the system will not allow you to lodge an objection to valuation of land value on rent return - the system most valuers use to determine commercial land values.

"This is the same value that councils then use to set their rates."

Mr Rogers said running a business should not include jumping through so many hoops, and helping small businessmen and women is vital for the survival of all NSW cities, especially the regional ones.

Slashing the red tape would be a great start, according to Mr Rogers, but he said it needs to be done, not just talked about.

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