Government Response

ato.gov.au

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will implement a series of administrative measures to assist Australians experiencing financial difficulty as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Commissioner of Taxation Chris Jordan is encouraging businesses impacted by the coronavirus to get in touch with the ATO to discuss relief options.

“We know that many businesses and communities are being heavily affected by the challenging economic conditions created by the outbreak of COVID-19,” he said. “The ATO will work shoulder-to-shoulder with businesses to assist them through this difficult period and do what we can to ease the pressure. “Once you contact us, we’ll tailor a support plan for your needs and circumstances. “Support measures could include deferral of some payments, quicker access to GST refunds, and options to enter low interest payment plans for existing or future tax debts.”

We understand this is a time of significant uncertainty and that we will need to be flexible in how we help businesses.

Options available to assist businesses impacted by COVID-19 include:

• Deferring by up to six months the payment date of amounts due through the business activity statement (including PAYG instalments), income tax assessments, fringe benefits tax assessments and excise
• Allow businesses on a quarterly reporting cycle to opt into monthly GST reporting in order to get quicker access to GST refunds they may be entitled to
• Allowing businesses to vary Pay As You Go (PAYG) instalment amounts to zero for the March 2020 quarter. Businesses that vary their PAYG instalment to zero can also claim a refund for any instalments made for the September 2019 and December 2019 quarters
• Remitting any interest and penalties, incurred on or after 23 January 2020, that have been applied to tax liabilities
• Working with affected businesses to help them pay their existing and ongoing tax liabilities by allowing them to enter into low interest payment plans.
• Employers will still need to meet their ongoing super guarantee obligations for their employees.

To make it easier for people to apply for relief we will be increasing our presence in the areas of highest impact. A temporary shopfront with staff specialising in assisting small business will be established in Cairns within the next few weeks. In addition, we will consider ways to enhance our presence in other significantly affected regions, making it easier for people to apply for relief. Additional temporary shopfronts and face-to-face options are currently under consideration.

We will also continue to work with the tax profession, other government agencies and local organisations to make sure other impacted communities are also supported during this time. We will ensure our services are tailored to the needs of the community and will work with taxpayers and their tax agents to tailor support to their individual circumstances.

Outside of business, the ATO will also work with individuals experiencing financial hardship, and their tax agents, and will apply appropriate tax relief measures for serious and exceptional circumstances, such as where people cannot pay for food or accommodation.

Unlike the bushfire relief measures, which applied automatically to particular geographic areas, assistance measures for those impacted by COVID-19 will not be automatically implemented.

Anyone impacted by COVID-19 is advised to contact the ATO to request assistance on our Emergency Support Infoline 1800 806 218, when they are ready, to discuss their situation.

www.pm.gov.au/media

aicd.companydirectors.com.au/covid-19

The Federal Government announced on Sunday that directors would be exempt from personal liability for trading while insolvent for six months as part of its response to COVID-19. This is welcome news for the AICD community with many organisations likely to face unprecedented disruption in coming months. This will give directors more confidence to trade through this crisis rather than place a business into administration, with the costs and job losses that entails.

More information

Importantly, even though not personally liable for debts incurred, directors will still need to manage their general duties including to act in the best interest of the corporation and with due care and diligence, during these extremely trying times. These duties can change in nature during situations of insolvency, with the rights of creditors needing to be factored into board decision-making. Further discussion of directors’ duties in light of the Government announcement is available here.

Separately the Government intends to grant the Treasurer powers to exempt companies from Corporations Act requirements during these times, including with respect to the holding of physical annual general meetings.

The AICD has made its webinar Turnaround Fundamentals available free to members as a resource for navigating the months ahead.

revenue.nsw.gov.au/covid-19-tax-relief-measures

The NSW Government has announced tax relief measures as part of its economic package to help businesses impacted by COVID-19. Payroll tax Waivers and deferral arrangements have been announced to provide relief for payroll tax customers. Read more information on these initiatives and the increase to the 2020/21 payroll tax threshold. Gaming machine tax Clubs and hotels will have their gaming machine tax payments deferred from March 2020 until 1 September 2020. More information on payment arrangements will be provided soon. Parking space levy payments will be deferred until 30 September 2020. More information on payment arrangements will be provided soon. Lotteries and Keno payments will be deferred from 1 April 2020 to 30 September 2020. More information on payment arrangements will be provided soon.

Covid-19: Support for business

The Covid-19 pandemic adversely impacts businesses of every size within the City of Sydney area. We have provided a package of measures worth $25m to support businesses and reduce the financial impact of Covid-19. These measures will be in place for an initial six months.

We will:

• waive fees for Health and Building compliance activities (expected revenue loss of $1.6m)
• review rents in City of Sydney premises for tenants that require support case-by-case and in consultation with these tenants (expected cost up to a value of $4m)
• waive our standard contractual terms and return booking and banner fees to people and organisations who have booked our venues and are now unable to proceed with their bookings (expected cost up to a value of $3m)
• waive footway dining, market permit and filming fees on the grounds of hardship (expected revenue loss of $1.5m)
• provide a flexible approach to parking and other infringements (expected revenue loss of $10-15m).

We will work with our major business partners and contractors on whether services can continue in their current form and support them to maintain long-term business continuity. The financial support above adds to policy changes we have put in place. These policy changes include:

• support businesses that need to expand their outdoor dining areas and increase or introduce take away food options to allow for social distancing
• only take enforcement action for matters that present an imminent public, environmental, health or safety risk
• allow supermarkets and other stores to operate their loading docks 24 hours a day to deliver essential goods.

We are developing a second stage support package, targeting those in small business and the creative, arts and entertainment industries. Staff will continue to work with the state and federal governments to ensure communities receive the financial relief that is needed.

homeaffairs.gov.au

COVID-19 and the border: Updates to Australia's immigration and border arrangements during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak.

austrade.gov.au

Austrade is open for business and our network of 1,100 staff is committed to helping you through this time. As part of ‘Team Australia’, Austrade is working closely with the network of government departments and industry agencies to help Australian businesses overcome complex and fast-evolving COVID-19–related challenges. This site provides updates on markets and logistics, and links through to the Government’s extensive business support programs.

csiro.au/covid-19

We are involved in key research in the rapid global response to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The work builds on our strong history protecting people in Australia and around the world from the threat of infectious diseases.