Last night, the Federal government announced its stimulus measures in response to the economic impact of the Corona pandemic. If there is any good news from any of this, it is that most of it are aimed at supporting small business.

There are three main areas of the $17.6b package that will likely effect our clients.

 

Cash flow assistance for businesses

The most significant component of the stimulus package is grant payouts of up to $25,000 for small-to-medium businesses with employees with a rebate on PAYG.

Businesses with turnover of up to $50 million, that employ staff in the period between January 1 and June 30 2020, will be eligible for the funding.

If you are paying PAYG on behalf of your staff, you will likely be eligible to a 50% rebate on the PAYG up to $50,000.

And for those that pay employees but do not need to withhold PAYG, you will still be eligible for a $2,000 grant.

 

Increasing the instant asset write-off

The government also announced that it is significantly increasing the instant asset write-off for small and medium businesses.

Currently, the tax write-off is available for businesses with a turnover of up to $50 million, for purchases of up to $30,000.

From today, the Government is increasing the instant asset write-off threshold to $150,000 and expanding access to include businesses with turnover of less than $500 million (up from $50 million) until 30 June 2020.

 

Supporting apprentices and trainees

The final measure that may benefit some of our clients is by providing a wage subsidy of up to 50 per cent of the apprentice’s or trainee’s wage for up to 9 months from 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2020.

 

Please contact us if you want to find out if you are entitled to any of these benefits and how you can access them.