Covid-19 Updates – May 2020

12th June 2020 will be the due date for all applications for this loan.

The Small Business Cashflow (Loan) Scheme (SBCS) has been introduced to support businesses and organisations struggling because of loss of actual or predicted revenue as a result of COVID-19. They must have 50 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees.

The annual interest rate will be 3% beginning from the date of the loan being provided. Interest will not be charged if the loan is fully paid back within one year.

Eligible businesses and organisations are entitled to a one-off loan. The maximum amount loaned is $10,000 plus $1,800 per full-time-equivalent employee.

Please contact us if you need any help.

A Wage Subsidy Extension payment will support those employers, including sole traders, who are still significantly impacted by COVID-19 after the Wage Subsidy ends.

The extension will be available from 10 June until 1 September 2020. Applications open from 10 June. Employers can’t apply for the extension for an employee until their 12 week Wage Subsidy has ended.

The subsidy covers eight weeks per employee from the date of application, and is paid as a lump sum to the employer at the same weekly rate as the Wage Subsidy.

To be eligible, employers must:

• Have had, or expect to have, a revenue loss of at least 50 percent for the 30 days before you apply, compared to the closest period last year.
• Pass the subsidy on to their employees
• Do their best to retain their employees for the duration of the subsidy and pay at least 80 percent of their normal pay.
• Continue to take active steps to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the business.

This allows immediate low-value asset write offs. To encourage spending, the change will temporarily increase the threshold of the value of assets which can be deducted in the year the asset was purchased. The threshold will increase from $500 to $5,000 for assets purchased in the 12 months from 1 Apr 2020 (reducing to $1,000 from 1 April 2021).

Lastly, we wish you, your family and your team are doing well! Keep safe and be positive!