Santa ‘clauses’ – 5 festive season problem areas 1. An anti-social media Xmas party Just imagine that embarrassing photo from the Christmas party (you know the one with the glass of champagne and the photocopier) being circulated to your key customer contacts, or even worse, your mother. Social media creates a whole new way for … Read more
Stimulating investment is high on the Government’s agenda. To encourage spending, the 2020-21 Budget introduced a measure that allows businesses with turnover under $5bn* to immediately deduct the cost of new depreciable assets and the cost of improvements to existing assets in the first year of use. This means that an asset’s cost will be … Read more
Carrying on an entity from 1 March 2020 An entity will still need to have carried on a business in Australia on 1 March 2020 to qualify for JobKeeper under the original rules or the expanded rules (the rules are a bit different for non-profit entities). An entity that commenced carrying on a business after … Read more
Over 2 days, the Victorian Government has announced two new support packages delivering over $3 billion in “cash grants, tax relief and cashflow support.” Grants Cash grants for SMEs “most affected by coronavirus restrictions” $822 million for the third round of Business Support Fund Grants of $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000 to businesses with payrolls of up to … Read more
Now, more than ever, business operators should have a plan in place to manage during uncertain times. Even if your business is not directly impacted, it’s likely your customers, your supply chain, and your workforce will be to some extent. So, how do you plan for uncertainty when every assumption is subject to change? Understand … Read more
If you are selling your business, merging, acquiring, or inviting in new investors, you need to understand the value of your business. But, to what degree does the pandemic impact on value? Should you discount or hold firm to pre COVID-19 performance on the basis that ‘we’re going to come out of it eventually’? Fair … Read more
Help for business JobKeeper 2.0 The Government has announced further changes to the JobKeeper scheme. The good news is that employees that missed out on JobKeeper because they were not employed on 1 March 2020 might now be eligible. The proposed changes would enable employees employed on 1 July 2020 to receive JobKeeper payments from … Read more
On Friday 14 August 2020, the Treasurer released the updated JobKeeper Rules dealing with eligible employees which apply from 3 August 2020 onwards. Specific rules dealing with JobKeeper 2.0 have not yet been released. New test date for employees Under the original JobKeeper rules, an employee generally needed to have been employed by the entity at 1 … Read more
The Government has announced the $2.5bn JobTrainer package to retrain, upskill and open new job opportunities. JobTrainer for job seekers and school leavers An additional 340,700 training places will be created to provide no or low cost courses into sectors with job opportunities. The Government is working with the States and Territories to develop a … Read more
With the increased numbers of taxpayers working from home due to COVID-19, the ATO has released specific guidance softening the rules around claiming deductions for home office expenses, including a ‘shortcut’ set rate method. Firstly, the ATO has reduced the usual requirements to be ‘eligible’ to claim the expenses, which usually require a specific area … Read more
