7 Actions you can take NOW!

We want to help you to continue to employ as many people as possible.
Our aim is to provide you with simple & actionable information to assist you to continue now (with the least amount of stress) & to be positioned to flourish now or atleast when this crisis is over.

Take advantage of EVERY government incentive & support option

IT IS CRITICAL THAT ALL YOUR BAS & TAX LODGEMENTS ARE UP TO DATE

TO BE ENTITLED TO MANY OF THE GOVERNMENT INCENTIVES

Summary of order of importance:

Contact your bank – defer ALL business loans & personal mortgages for the maximum 6 months (this has been taking on average 10mins for clients to do)
Contact your bank about your eligibility to the SME Guarantee Scheme for a maximum loan of $250,000 (details below)
Lodge your March BAS on time to take advantage of any government incentives
Rent – negotiate with your landlord
Questions about employee entitlments – talk to Employsure with our client code (details below)
Defer any payments to ATO, including BAS (talk to us)
Understand your cashflow & look at different possible scenarios

Job Keeper Payment

Eligible businesses will be paid up to $1,500 per fortnight, for eligible employees for the next six months

What we know so far:

Businesses will be paid up to $1,500 per fortnight, per eligible employee, for the next 6 months
Eligible employees as at 1 March 2020 and each eligible employee is currently engaged

Businesses must have had a drop in turnover of at least 30 per cent due to coronavirus to qualify for the payments to give their workers

Payments will start from first week of May, backdated to March 30
Legal obligation on employers to pass on the full wage subsidy to employees
Payments for full-time workers, part-time workers, sole traders & casuals (employed for 12months or more)

This is designed by the government to enable employers to keep paying their staff during the coronavirus crisis, in an effort to ensure workers still have a job once the pandemic has subsided.

Job Keeper information
Treasury Announcement

NOTE: Until this is passed by parliament (expected early April) we have limited details

SME Guarantee Scheme

The government is assisting lenders to provide loans to businesses up to $250,000 who are experiencing, or anticipating, cashflow disruption due to COVID-19

Benefits of the loans include:

Unsecured loan for up to $250,000 (banks are making this easy)
Term of up to 3 years, with initial 6 month repayment holiday
Interest to be charged only on the amount drawn, so businesses do not have to use the entire facility
Government will guarantee 50% of the loan to the lender to encourage new loans
new loans made by participating lenders up to 30 September 2020
Applications can be made from today 1st April with some some lenders, other lenders will have their offer available early April

Note: be paitient if you are calling a banks general help line as they have been overloaded with calls this week, keep trying.

Stimulus – boosting cashflow for employers

The government will provide cash flow boosts to eligible businesses, delivered through CREDITS in the activity statement system, when businesses lodge their activity statements.
This will be between $20,000 and $100,000 for eligible businesses.

In summary:

The initial payment will be delivered by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as a credit in the activity statement system starting from 28 April 2020
Employers that withhold tax to the ATO on their employees’ salary and wages quarterly will receive a payment equal to 100 per cent of the amount withheld (monthly withholders 300% credit), up to a maximum payment of $50,000
Eligible businesses that pay salary and wages will receive a minimum payment of $10,000, even if they are not required to withhold tax
An additional payment equivalent to the total of the initial of cash boost credits that would have been received will be available if the business continues to be active
The additional payment will be delivered as credits in the June and September BAS’s for quarterly lodgers and June, July, August & September for monthly lodgers
Small and medium business entities with aggregated annual turnover under $50 million and who employ workers will be eligible (based on the prior year’s turnover)

Note: we have been contacting the Tax Office daily to understand exactly how this will be applied. There is still no clear guidance other than once they receive BAS’s they will have some test cases & provide more information – stay tuned.

More information: Treasury fact sheet

Horizon – business stimulus summary

Horizon – Individual stimulus summary

Employer Obligations

If you have questions around specific awards & employers obligations

We have partnered with Employsure who specialise in employee relations.

As a client of The Horizon Group you can speak to them directly to get some free advice.
Please contact our office for our partner code.

Employsure Video series – highly recommended

Employsure Coronavirus blog

Freeze on Evictions

National Cabinet agreed to a freeze on evictions for the next six months for commercial and residential tenancies in financial distress due to the impact of coronavirus.
They are encouraging:

tenants and landlords to agree on rent relief or temporary amendments to the lease
reduction or waiver of rental payment for a defined period for impacted tenants
the ability for tenants to terminate leases and/or seek mediation or conciliation on the grounds of financial distress
commercial property owners to ensure that any benefits received in respect of their properties should also benefit their tenants in proportion to the economic impact caused by coronavirus
landlords and tenants not significantly affected by coronavirus are expected to honour their lease and rental agreements
cost-sharing or deferral of losses between landlords and tenants, with Commonwealth, state and territory governments, local government and financial institutions to consider mechanisms to provide assistance

Full announcement

Self Managed Superfunds – Rent relief

SMSF’s offering a rent reduction to a related party, for 2019-20 and 2020-21 the ATO have confirmed they will not take action.
More information

Simple! Smart! Different!

This information is intended to provide general information only and has been prepared without taking into account any particular person’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on such information, you should consider the appropriateness of the information

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The Horizon Group of Companies
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email: info@thehorizongroup.com.au
phone: 08 9344 7799
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