The Government has announced an increase in tax benefits in response to the Coronavirus. Parliament will have a final sitting next week to consider the $17.6 billion economic stimulus package in hopes of protecting the economy and supporting businesses and workers. Below is the list of key tax measures and payments that are hoping to be included in the package. However, please note that the package of Bills has not been introduced yet and nothing can be confirmed or guaranteed at this stage. We will keep our clients and readers up to date as we hear the results of this package and hope to include them in our April newsletter.

  • The instant asset write-off threshold is set to be increased from $30,000 (for businesses with a turnover of less than $50 million) to $150,000 (for businesses with a turnover of less than $500 million) from 12th of March to 30th of June 2020
  • Immediate 50% deduction of the cost of an eligible asset with the balance to be depreciated under current depreciation rules for assets purchased from 12th March 2020 to 30th June 2021
  • Tax-free payments from $2000 to $25,000 for eligible small and medium businesses that employ staff based on their PAYG withholding obligations – this will be applied as a credit of 50% of the PAYG withheld when lodging an activity statement from March to June 2020 with the ATO
  • Tax-free payments of $750 to social security, veteran and other income support recipients and eligible concession card holders from 31st March 2020
  • Relief from the ATO for some tax obligations for persons affected by the Coronavirus outbreak – deferral of certain lodgements and payments
  • Wage subsidies to support employers who pay apprentices and trainees – employers who employee less than 20 full-time employees may be entitled to apply for a wage subsidy that will cover 50% of an apprentices or trainees wages for up to nine months from 1st January to 30 September 2020 with a maximum subsidy of $21,000 for each employee – applications are set to be taken from April 2020
  • Government assistance to regions and communities that have been severely affected by the outbreak

For more details, please visit the treasury website at https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus

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