Please see below for details of some of the government assistance on offer, including details of
- the timing of the payg credit,
- the ATO’s approach to stopping schemes to increase or obtain the payg credit,
- assistance available for sole traders,
- assistance with cashflow finance for businesses,
- notes on rent assistance, and
- details of face masks for sale (!)
PAYG Credit Further Details
Timing – Processed from 28 April
The first credit will be available after lodgement of the March 2020 BAS and processed as an automatic credit in the active statement system from 28 April.
If the credit results in a refund, this will be processed within 14 days.
ATO Provisions to Stop Schemes to Increase or Obtain the PAYG Credit
The ATO have advised the following at https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Business-activity-statements-(BAS)/In-detail/Boosting-cash-flow-for-employers/#Schemes
“You will not be eligible for cash flow boosts if you (or a representative) have entered into or carried out a scheme for the purpose of:
becoming entitled to cash flow boosts when you would otherwise not be entitled, or
increasing the amount of the cash flow boosts.
This may include restructuring your business or the way you usually pay your workers to fall within the eligibility criteria, as well as increasing wages paid in a particular month to maximise the cash flow boost amount.
Any sudden changes to the characterisation of payments made may cause us to investigate whether the payments are in fact wages. If the payments are wages, we may consider the characterisation of past payments, including whether they should have been subject to PAYGW and whether super guarantee contributions should have been made. You may also have FBT obligations that have not yet been met.”
Other Assistance for Sole Traders and Employees
Access to Superannuation
If you are a sole trader and your income has declined by at least 20% or if you are unemployed, eligible to receive a jobseeker payment or from 1 January 2020 were made redundant or your working hours were reduced by 20% or more, you are entitled to access up to $10,000 of superannuation this financial year and $10,000 next financial year. The amounts you access are tax free and can be spent however you choose.
How to apply
If you are eligible for this access to superannuation, you can apply from mid-April directly to the ATO through the myGov website: my.gov.au. You will need to certify that you meet the eligibility criteria.
After your application has been processed, the ATO will issue you with a determination and provide a copy of this determination to your superannuation fund, which will advise them to release your superannuation payment. Your fund will then make the payment to you without you needing to apply to the fund directly.
If you are a member of a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) who is eligible, you can apply through myGov from mid April. The ATO will then issue you with a determination advising of your eligibility to release an amount. When your SMSF receives the determination from you, they will be authorised to make the payment.
Details are also at
and at
Jobseeker Payment
Sole traders and anyone stood down from employment are also eligible for the Jobseeker payment and the associated coronavirus supplement of $550 per fortnight as long as they meet the standard Jobseeker payment conditions. The Jobseeker payment is income tested and if you have a partner, also calculated with reference to your partner’s income.
The assets test for the Jobseeker payment has been waived and the waiting time reduced. If you are a sole trader, as long as you actively try and maintain your business, you will pass the test required for someone to ordinarily actively look for work.
Details about the jobseeker payment including income tests and the amounts of the payment are at https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/jobseeker-payment
Other Government Assistance – Cashflow Finance
If you require cashflow funding to ensure your business can survive this period and had a profitable business prior to coronavirus, you may wish to consider the unsecured loans now on offer.
The government is securing up to 50% of unsecured loans up to a loan amount of $250,000, repayable over 3 years and with a six-month repayment holiday.
The loans will be administered by banks. Banks have stated that they are committed to providing these unsecured loans to businesses that were previously healthy but for the coronavirus.
Rent Assistance for Residential and Commercial Tenancies
Rent assistance is expected to be administered by State governments and details of assistance are expected as early as today. Assistance will most likely vary between states.
Face masks for sale
Friend and client Michael Clancy has face masks on sale which you may wish to check out. Details are at https://virusarmour.com.au/