The Federal Government is providing assistance to deal with the economic impact of the Coronavirus for businesses in the following forms:
- Helping small businesses with short-term cash flow relief to support the continued employment of staff; and
- Supporting business investment in the short to medium term.
Helping small businesses with short-term cash flow relief to support the continued employment of staff PAYG Withholding Relief for Small Businesses
For businesses with an aggregated turnover of less than $50 million and who employ workers, the ATO will provide tax-free payments of between $2,000 to $25,000. These payments will be automatically applied to the PAYG withholding obligations made by businesses for the period 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2020. The amount of the payment or credit will be 50% of the PAYG withholding declared on these activity statements up to a maximum of $25,000. Where no PAYG withholding has been declared eligible businesses will still receive a tax-free credit of $2,000.
Supporting Business Investment in the Short to Medium Term
The following measures will take effect from 12 March 2020:
- The instant asset write-off will be increased from $30,000 per asset to $150,000 per asset for businesses with an aggregated turnover of less than $500 million until 30 June 2020; and
- Providing a 15 month investment incentive (through to 30 June 2021) to support business investment and economic growth by accelerating depreciation deductions. Businesses with a turnover of less than $500 million will be able to deduct an additional 50% of the asset cost in the year of purchase.
These measures will provide support to the business community, we appreciate these are challenging times and the ATO has also signalled its support for those people and businesses directly affected. If you or your business is being directly impacted by Coronavirus please let us know so we can see what can be done to assist you.