Australian Governments Coronavirus Tax Stimulus Measures

Save real tax money right now to take advantage of the Australian Government’s response to support small business in the wake of Co-Vid 19.  The Coronavirus Tax Stimulus measures are being passed thorugh government very shortly.

The government have recently announced some small business stimulus measures to assist small businesses in hard times.  Their particular focus is on supporting employers and businesses to continue to invest. These meausres include:

• The Boosting Cash Flow for Employers measure: This will provide up to $25,000 back to business, with a minimum payment of $2,000 for eligible businesses. The payment will provide temporary cash flow support to small and medium businesses that employ staff. The payment will be tax free.  This will be applied as a credit to your Integrated Client Account with the ATO.

Quarterly lodgers will be eligible to receive the payment for the quarters ending March 2020 and June 2020.
Monthly lodgers will be eligible to receive the payment for the March 2020, April 2020, May 2020 and June 2020 lodgments. To provide a similar treatment to quarterly lodgers, the payment for monthly lodgers will be calculated at three times the rate (150 per cent) in the March 2020 activity statement.

• The Government is supporting small business to retain their apprentices and trainees. Eligible employers can apply for a wage subsidy of 50 per cent of the apprentice’s or trainee’s wage paid during the 9 months from 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2020. Where a small business is not able to retain an apprentice, the subsidy will be available to a new employers.

Employers will be reimbursed up to a maximum of $21,000 per eligible apprentice or trainee ($7,000 per quarter).  Registrations can be made from early April.

• Significant increases to the instant-asset write off of up to $150k and increasing the number of businesses that are elgible to access the concession.  Good news if you are considering investing in plant and equipment.

• Stimulus payments for households – one-off payment of $750 to social security, veteran and other income support recipients and eligible concession card holders

ATO Support

The ATO have indicated that there will be flxibility in the way taxpayers affairs are handled over the coming months.  This includes:

• • Up to four month deferral on payment amounts due for BAS, PAYG Instalments, FBT and Income Tax;
  • Businesses that report their BAS quarterly can opt in to monthly reporting to more quickly gain access to any refunds they may be entitled to;
  • Varying of PAYG instalments for the April 2020 quarter to nil;
  • Remission of interest and penalties incurred after 23 January 2020 allowing businesses to enter low-interest payment plans.

Businesses and their advisors can contact the ATO on their emergency support infoline 1800 806 218 to discuss their situation.

What Does All This Mean?

Most importantly, it means you are not alone. There is help to ease some of the cashflow issues that you may already be encountering.   Hiding under the blankets and waiting for it to go away is never the best option.

It’s important that you keep a close eye on your cashflow, and more than ever that you are carefully planning over the next few months.  We can help, even if you do not have a clue where you should start!

More information is available on the Treasury Fact Sheet – Cashflow Assistance for Businesses.

Let Us Help

If you are unsure or have questions, please feel free to contact us.