The Commonwealth Government has announced its fiscal response package to address the economic impacts of the Coronavirus outbreak. It includes several measures that are intended to support confidence and employment by helping business to maintain investment and manage short-term cash flow challenges.
The Government’s economic response targets four key areas:
- Delivering support for business investment
- Cash flow assistance for employers
- Stimulus payments to households to support growth
- Assistance for severely affected regions
An overview of the government's economic stimulus package can be found here.
Business support package
From today, the Government is increasing the instant asset write-off threshold from $30,000 to $150,000. It is also expanding access to include businesses with aggregated annual turnover of less than $500 million (up from $50 million) until 30 June 2020.
The Government is introducing a 15-month investment incentive (to 30 June 2021) to support business investment through accelerated depreciation deductions. Businesses with a turnover of less than $500 million will be able to deduct 50 per cent of the cost of an eligible asset on installation, with existing depreciation rules applying to the balance of the asset’s cost.
The Boosting Cash Flow for Employers measure will provide up to $25,000 back to small and medium-sized businesses. Businesses with turnovers up to $50 million will be eligible for tax-tree payments of up to $25,000. Eligible businesses that pay salary and wages but are not required to withhold tax will receive a minimum of $2,000.
Eligible employers can apply for a wage subsidy of 50 per cent for the wage of an apprentice or trainee for up to 9 months from 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2020. Where a small business is not able to retain an apprentice, the subsidy will be available to a new employer that employs that apprentice.
Package Implementation and Timing
The Government is moving quickly to implement their economic stimulus package. Several Bills will be introduced into Parliament during the final Autumn sitting week in March 2020 for urgent consideration and passage. Following passage of the Bills through Parliament, the Government will move immediately to make and register any supporting instruments.
Further Information
Access the following websites for more information about the government's economic stimulus package and how to access it.