State Government Stimulus Packages

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State Government Stimulus Packages

State Government Stimulus Packages

NSW

First Stimulus Package

Announced on the 17 March 2020, the NSW stimulus package is a $2.3bn health and economic package.

  • $450 million worth of payroll tax waived for businesses with payrolls of up to $10m for the remaining three months of the 2019 – 2020 financial year. This is a saving of a quarter of your payroll tax bill
  • Payroll tax threshold increased to $1m for the 2020 – 2021 financial year
  • $80m worth of fees and licenses for small businesses, particularly in industries that are worst hit such as hospitality, tourism and trades
  • $250m allocated to employ additional cleaning staff to attend to public infrastructure
  • $250m worth of maintenance funds to be brought forward to maintain public assets to stimulate additional spending
  • $500m worth of capital works and maintenance brought forward

How to apply: This will be automatically applied for payroll tax returns covering the remaining three months of the financial year.

Second Stimulus Package

NSW has announced its stage two stimulus package worth $1bn.

  • $1bn fund to create businesses and retrain employees
  • Deferral of payroll tax for businesses with payrolls over $10m for six months. Businesses with payrolls of less than $0m already received a three-month waiver, but will now get an additional three-month deferral
  • Deferral of gambling tax for pubs, clubs, hotels and lotteries for six months on the condition this is used to retain staff
  • Deferral of parking space levy for six months
  • Deferral of rent in government-owned buildings for commercial tenants with fewer than 20 employees
  • $34m to prevent homelessness
  • $30m boost to the energy accounts payments assistance scheme
  • $10m for charities and $6m for Lifeline

$10,000 Grant for Small Businesses

Small businesses across NSW struggling to cope with the COVID-19 shutdown will receive grants of up to $10,000 under a new NSW government assistance scheme. Eligibility criteria:

  • Have between 1-19 employees and a turnover of more than $75,000
  • A payroll below the NSW Government 2019-20 payroll tax threshold of $900,000
  • Have an ABN as at 1 March 2020, be based in NSW and employ staff as at 1 March 2020
  • Be highly impacted by the Public Health (COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement) Order 2020 issued on 30 March 2020
  • Use the funding for unavoidable business costs such as utilities, overheads, legal costs and financial advice
  • Provide appropriate documentation upon application
  • Applications for the grant will be available by applying with Service NSW mid-April and will remain open until 1 June 2020

How to apply: Gather all information and documentation evidence. You cannot save and resume your application once you’ve started. All applications are made through MyServiceNSW and if your application is approved, payment will be transferred within 10 business days. Click here for further information and to apply.


Six Month Moratorium on Residential Tenancy Evictions

An ATO warning letter is not a review nor an audit.

The NSW Government is introducing an interim 60-day stop on landlords seeking to evict tenants due to rental arrears as a result of COVID-19, together with longer six month restrictions on rental arrears evictions for those financially disadvantaged by COVID-19.

Eligibility:

  • One or more rent-paying members of a household have lost employment or income due to COVID-19 business closures or stand-downs, or
  • One or more rent-paying members of a household have had to stop working or reduce work hours due to illness with COVID-19 or due to carer responsibilities for household or family members with COVID-19, and
  • The above factor result in a household income (inclusive of any government assistance) that is reduced by 25% or more

VIC

Announced on the 21 March 2020, the VIC stimulus package is worth $1.7bn economic survival and jobs package.

  • Full payroll tax refunds for 2019 – 2020 Financial Year for SME with turnover less than $3m (starts 23 March 2020)
  • Deferred payroll tax for first three months of 2020/21 Financial Year until 1 January 2021
  • Rent relief can be provided for eligible commercial tenants in government buildings
  • 2020 land tax deferred
  • Government to pay all outstanding supplier invoices within five business days
  • Liquor licensing fees are waived for all 2020
  • $500m dedicated to a Business Support Fund for the hardest-hit sectors such as hospitality, tourism, accommodation, arts, entertainment and retail
  • $500m committed to a Working for Victoria fund to support those who have lost their jobs
  • Dedicated hotline setup by Business Victoria for those who need to seek support – 13 22 15

How to apply:Contact will be made by the VIC State Revenue Office to all eligible businesses to discuss reimbursement for payroll tax already paid in the financial year

QLD

The QLD government has introduced a recovery package.

  • Setup a new Jobs Support loan facility offering $500m in interest-free loans for the first 12 months with loans comprising of up to $250,000.
  • Payroll deferment until 31 July 2020 if your business is paying less than $6.5m in taxable wages and your current turnover or profit is directly/indirectly affected by the virus.
  • Waived tourism operators and hospitality provider fees

WA

The WA government has introduced a $607m stimulus package on 16 March 2020.

  • $114m dedicated to supporting small businesses
  • Small businesses that pay payroll tax will receive a one-off grant of $17,500 which will be automatically paid by cheque from July. Recommended that you verify your postal address is correctvia Revenue Online:
  • $1m payroll tax threshold brought forward to 1 July 2020
  • Payroll tax payments can be deferred until July 21 2020 for businesses impacted by COVID-19.

Full press release

A second package worth $1bn was announced including extra assistance for households’ and small businesses’ energy bills that will take effect until September 30 2020.

  • Extension of Energy Assistance Payment, no disconnections for power and water
  • $502m dedicated to small businesses including reduction in electricity bills license fees waived, and additional payroll tax reliefs
  • Electricity bills for small businesses will be reduced, with a one-off $2,500 credit available for Synergy and Horizon Power customerse that consume less than 50 MWh per annum
  • Payroll tax waived for a four-month period between 1 March to 30 Jun 2020 for SMEs with annual wages of less than $7.5m in 2019-20
  • $100.4m worth of licence fees waived for SMEs for the next 12 months

The WA State Government has also announced that WA businesses will not need to pay payroll tax on Commonwealth JobKeeper payments.

SA

The SA government has introduced a $1bn response package which is inclusive of the initial $350m announced by the government.

  • Six-month waiver for all businesses with annual aggregate payroll up to $4m (April – September)
  • From July, individuals and businesses with outstanding quarterly bills for 2019-20 land tax are able to defer payments for 6 months
  • For 2020-21, Land Tax Transition Relief fund will be increased from 50% to 100% based on existing relief criteria guidelines
  • Waiver of liquor license fees for 2020-21 for hotels, restaurants, cafes and clubs forced to close
  • $300m Business and Jobs Support Fund established – detailed to be confirmed
  • $250m Community and Jobs Fund established – detailed to be confirmed
  • Once-off cash payment of $500 for households with unemployed or one member of the family who had lost their job due to the coronavirus
  • Public servants with family members who have lost their job and moved onto Commonwealth benefits will receive their accrued leave down to a limit of 2 retained weeks

A second stimulus package worth $650m has been announced which will include $300m for businesses and industries and $250m for community organisations and training.

More to come shortly.

ACT

The ACT government has committed $137m to support businesses and the ACT community.

  • $2,622 credit to commercial rates bill
  • $750 rebate to small businesses for their next electricity bill
  • Businesses that pay up to $10m in wages will be able to defer payroll tax for 12 months
  • Industries affected by COVID-19 will receive a once-off six-month waiver on payroll tax
  • Taxi and rideshare fees are waived
  • Food and liquor licence fees waived
  • $20m in funding is allocated for simple infrastructure works on public buildings
  • Funding for clubs will be allocated to retain casual staff

TAS

The Tasmania government unveiled a $420m stimulus package.

  • The package offers interest-free small business loans of up to $20m for businesses turning over less than $5m
  • Payroll tax will be waived for hospitality, tourism and seafood industry for the last four months of 2019 – 2020 Financial Year
  • $50m will be allocated to fast track public building maintenance spend over the next 12 months
  • The government will improve the speed of paying bills
  • $5,000 grants for apprentice and trainee hire in the tourism, hospitality, building and construction, and manufacturing industries
  • Payroll rebate for one year via the Youth Employment Scheme for businesses that hire someone 24 and under between April and December 2020

A second stimulus package worth $565m has been announced:

  • Government fees to be frozen or waived and capped including water and electricity
  • Payroll tax waivers from the first stimulus package to be extended for the entire 2019 – 20 financial year
  • Increase of small business interest-free loan scheme from $20m to $50m for businesses with less than $10m in turnover
  • Providing a $40m Small Business rants Program with $20m set aside for emergency grants

NT

The Northern Territory government introduced a $65m Jobs Rescue & Recovery Package.

  • $20m allocated to the Business Improvement Scheme. Eligible businesses will receive $10,000 and can also receive an additional $10,000 if recipients put in their own $10,000 to incentivise upgrades and purchases for Territory business
  • $5m Business Structural Adjustment package for businesses affected by the 100-person rule that limits capacity and revenue generation
  • Freezing of Government fees, charges and electricity prices until 1 July 2021

An extra $50m was announced on 24 March 2020 to create a small business survival fund.