Yesterday the Federal Government announced its second business stimulus package. Here’s a snapshot of how you and your business might stand to benefit:
- Tax-Free Cash Flow for Employers – the government has doubled down on its initial package with employers now eligible for up to $100,000 and a minimum of $20,000.The good news is that you don’t need to do anything at all, your payments will be paid to you as a credit in your BAS. To confirm your eligibility and calculate your entitlement, click here
- SME guarantee scheme – the government has agreed to guarantee 50% of new short-term unsecured loans of up to $250,000 per borrower, with a term up to three years and a six month repayment holiday. No assets will need to be provided as security for these loans and the scheme will run from early April 2020 to 30 September 2020. Details here
Please note: we have not yet been provided with a list of the participating lenders but we will advise as soon as we learn.
- Responsible Lending exemption: the government has agreed to waive responsible lending obligations for lenders for 6 months to encourage the swift granting of credit to SME’s. Details here
- Reducing the cost of credit – the government has agreed to provide at least $90 billion to lenders at a fixed rate of 0.25% to put downward pressure on small business lending rates – so hopefully we will receive some good news from lenders soon. Details here
- Temporary relief for financially distressed businesses – a little too much to summarise so please review here
In addition to the above small business stimulus, the Government has also announced a range of financial benefits for individuals and households that can be reviewed here
The package is spearheaded by the early release of superannuation which will allow individuals in financial stress (including job seekers, casuals and sole traders) as a result of Covid-19, to access up to $10,000 of their super in 2019-20 and a further $10,000 in 2020-21.
Individual State and Territory Support
In addition to the two stimulus packages provided by the Federal Government, the State & Territory Governments have also released a plethora of support packages which can be reviewed here:
Please share this link with any friends or family members who also run small businesses.
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