Parliament has passed new laws that now require more than 700,000 Australian small businesses to be added to the ATO's single touch payroll rules, a move worth an estimated $1.3 billion to the economy.

The system, in which employees' payroll and super information is sent to the ATO from internal payroll systems each payday, now also extends to firms with fewer than 20 employees.

The Financial Review's article reports on the move, which is being described as the biggest legislative change for small businesses since the GST.