The Federal Government has today, 12th March 2020, announced it’s $17.6 billion economic stimulus package in response to the growing concern over COVID-19. The intention of the package is to support the economy while it deals with the effects of the global outbreak of COVID-19.
The key measures announced include:
· Increasing the instant asset write-off threshold from $30,000 to $150,000 for businesses with an aggregated turnover of less than $50 million until 30 June 2020;
· A 15 month investment incentive to accelerate certain depreciation deductions through to 30 June 2021 for businesses with a turnover of less than $500million. Businesses will be able to immediately deduct 50% of the cost of an eligible asset on installation and existing depreciation rules would apply to the balance of the assets’ cost (for new depreciating assets first used or installed ready for use by 30 June 2021);
· Tax-free payments up to $25,000 for eligible small and medium businesses who have PAYG withholding obligations;
· Tax-free payments of $750 for social security, veteran and other income support recipients and eligible concession cardholders (automatically paid from 31 March 2020);
· Administrative relief from the ATO for some tax obligations for people affected by the COVID-19 outbreak;
· Wage subsidies to support retention of apprentices and trainees; and
· Assistance to regional and other communities who have been affected by the economic impact of COVID-19 and who heavily rely on industries such as tourism, agriculture and education.
To find out more about how this affects your or your business, get in touch with us today.