With the calendar ticking over into December, the count down for Christmas has begun and we will be saying goodbye (& good riddance?) to 2020 soon. For accountants, this means the start of yet another JobKeeper period with businesses needing to re-establish their eligibility using the actual drop in turnover test and a new set of minimum wage rates for employees and business owners who worked under or over 40 hours per fortnight.
The Victorian Government has released its state budget and the major potential benefit for businesses is a new payroll tax rebate that is available for the 2021 and 2022 financial years.
Applications have just opened offering businesses the ability to claim a $1,200 rebate from the Victorian State Government after purchasing an eligible digital product. An eligible business is any micro business, sole trader or small business operating in Victoria, which holds an ABN on 13 September 2019 and is registered for GST on 13 September 2020.
We are fast approaching the end of October, which is the first month for the extended JobKeeper scheme. The ATO estimates that 60% of those businesses who will utilise this scheme will be Victorian businesses who have been impacted by the strict lockdowns applied by the State Government which are only now starting to be eased.
The last 7 months have been difficult for business owners with many industries being severely impacted by the lockdowns enforced to try and keep the virus under control. Victorians are still living with these restrictions although the dropping case numbers give hope that relief will be forthcoming soon.
Elysium is no different from most Victorian businesses and our staff have been forced to work from home for the majority of the time from the middle of March. The feedback we get from these staff and from our clients, is that they are struggling (especially those in Victoria) with the continued lockdown restrictions and are finding it difficult to maintain a positive outlook as we get so close, but yet so far, from returning to a normal life.