As we reported last week, the State and Federal governments have announced a range of
concessions in an effort to soften the impact of the current pandemic on your business.
Since then a second wave of stimulus has been announced by the government together
with additional relief being offered by banks and financial institutions.
Additional Help for Employers
The previously announced concession for employers has been significantly increased to a
maximum available payment of $100,000 and a minimum of $20,000 per employer. The
amount you receive will be determined by the amount that you withhold from your
employee’s wages. You will receive 100% of the withholding amount up to $50,000 in your
March and June BAS’ for quarterly lodgers and March, April, May and June for monthly
lodgers. After you lodge your September BAS you will receive a further payment equal to
the amount previously received.
Where you employ staff but are not required to withhold from their wages (e.g. low paid
employees) you will be entitled to $10,000 in the March and June quarters. At this stage,
we are unsure whether you receive this as one payment of $10,000 or two payments of
$5,000. You will then receive a further $10,000 after you lodge your September BAS.
ATO Payment Deferrals
The ATO are allowing businesses to defer BAS, Income Tax and Fringe Benefits Tax payments
for up to four months however we stress that you are still required to lodge all returns by
the due date.
If you wish to defer payment we ask that you contact our office to ensure you are placed on
the most appropriate plan.
Please note that superannuation contributions for your employees must be made by their
due dates and do not form part of the above concessions.
Centrelink Benefits
The government will establish a new $550 fortnightly coronavirus supplement payment.
Permanent employees who are stood down or lose their employment, sole traders, the self-
employed, casual workers and contract workers will be able to access the new coronavirus
supplement under expanded access to the JobSeeker Payment, formerly known as
Newstart.
The supplement will also be paid to both existing and new recipients of the JobSeeker
Payment, Youth Allowance jobseeker, Parenting Payment, Farm Household Allowance and
Special Benefit.
Application is made through Centrelink with the payments set to commence from 27 April.
Access to Superannuation
Employees who have been made redundant, or those who have their working hours
reduced by 20 per cent or more, or sole traders whose businesses have been suspended or
see a reduction in turnover by 20 per cent or more will also now be allowed to access up to
$20,000 of their superannuation.
Eligible individuals will be able to apply online through myGov to access up to $10,000 of
their superannuation before 1 July 2020, and be able to access up to a further $10,000 from
1 July 2020 for approximately three months.
Banking and Finance Measures
The Government is working with banks and other lenders to provide additional
credit and assistance to businesses and employees.
Loans of up to $250,000 are available through the Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme.
These loans will have a term of three years with no repayments in the first six months and
should be available from April.
Australian banks will defer loan payments for small businesses affected by the Coronavirus
for up to six months. Home loan repayments can also be deferred for up to six months.
We stress that interest will continue to be charged and capitalised on these loans so careful
consideration should be given before applying for these concessions.
You will need to contact you bank to apply.
Contact TSP
As we have previously stated, the information above is based only on Government announcements and no legislation is available. Further updates will be provided on the TSP Accountants Facebook page and our website. You should always seek advice from TSP before making any decisions.