Information is still being released about the Government’s Coronavirus Stimulus package, however, below is what we know so far in a nutshell.
More information will become available over the coming days and weeks. Please feel free to contact us on 1300 978 320 or info@spire-business.com.au if you have any questions or would like to discuss how the below stimulus affects you or your business individually.
$25,000 to Small and Medium Businesses:
- Businesses with turnover up to $50 million that employ staff between 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2020 may be eligible
- A business that pays income tax on behalf of employees (PAYG Withholding) may be eligible for a payment equal to 50% of the sum of all employees’ total PAYG Withholding, to a maximum of $25,000
- If you are a business that pays wages but not required to pay tax you may be eligible to receive a minimum payment of $2,000
- This stimulus will be issued automatically based on Business or Instalment Activity Statements lodged from April 28
- This payment is tax free
- Payments are expected to be paid within 14 days
For Apprentices:
- The business must employee less than 20 full-time employees
- Businesses will be offered up to $21,000 ($7,000 per quarter for the first three quarters or 9 months of the 2020 calendar year) for each apprentice
- The payments will be equal to 50% of the apprentice’s wages
- A large business or Group Training Organisation may also be eligible for these benefits if they employ an out-of-trade apprentice who has been in-training with a small business as of 1 March 2020
- Employers can register for the subsidy from 2 April 2020
- Further information available on the governments Australian Apprenticeships website
Instant Asset Write-Off Extension:
- The current tax write-off of $30,000 for businesses with a turnover of up to $50 million is now extended to include businesses with a turnover of up to $500 million and purchases of up to $150,000
- This extension will apply until 30 June 2020
One-off payments:
- The government will provide one-off payments of $750 to people on Newstart and to pensioners
- The payment is tax-free and will not be assessable income
Support to particular sectors:
- The Government will be committing $1 billion to support businesses that have severely affected such as the travel and tourism sector
Further to the above stimulus, the ATO will be looking to be more flexible in the way they will handle taxpayers’ affairs, this is what we know so far:
- The ATO will allow businesses who usually report GST quarterly to opt in for monthly GST reporting in order to receive GST refunds quicker
- Businesses will be allowed to vary their Pay As You Go (PAYG) instalment to zero for the March 2020 quarter
- Businesses who vary their PAYG instalment to zero will also be able to claim a refund made for the September and December 2019 quarters
- The ATO will look to remit any interest and penalties applied on or after 23 January 2020 and will also be offering low interest payment plans to businesses with a tax debt owing
- All of the above will not be applied automatically and will require a phone call or request put forward to the ATO