South Australian Stimulus Package

 

Yesterday South Australian Premier, Steven Marshall and State Treasurer Rob Lucas announced a $650 million stimulus package to support South Australian jobs and businesses during this extraordinarily difficult time.

This is the second stimulus package announced by the State Government following on from the announcement of a $350 million infrastructure boost to the state on 11 March 2020.

This second stimulus package is focused more directly on business and jobs and includes the following measures:

Payroll tax relief for businesses

  • For businesses with annual grouped payroll (Australia wide) of up to $4 million there will be a 6 month waiver of payroll tax
  • That is a complete abolition of payroll tax for those businesses from April 2020 – September 2020 (for the return periods of March 2020 to August 2020)
  • No application is required, eligible businesses should be notified directly via RevenueSA Online
  • For businesses with an annual grouped payroll that exceeds $4 million, they will be able to defer payroll tax payments for up to 6 months
  • To use the deferral, these businesses will have to show that the Coronavirus has significantly impacted their business and cash flow – it will not be an automatic deferral. An online application form will be available for these businesses

Land tax relief

  • The Land Tax reforms will be introduced as originally scheduled delivering benefits to some landholders
  • For those land holders who will be eligible for the Land Tax Transition Relief Fund, the amount payable from the Fund will increase from 50% to 100%
  • Landholders who pay land tax quarterly are able to defer their third and fourth instalments for the 2019-2020 year for up to 6 months

The establishment of a “Business and Jobs Support Fund” and a “Community and Jobs Fund”

  • There is little detail on these funds as yet. However, we understand that a Board comprising private and public business leaders will be established which will administer the funds
  • The Business Fund has been established to support businesses and industries that have been severely and directly impacted by the Coronavirus with the potential for collapse and significant job losses
  • The Community Fund will support community organisations impacted by the Coronavirus and will also assist in training and upskilling up South Australians to assist in meeting increased demand for other services

Other concessions announced

  • The State Government will waive liquor licencing fees for 2020-2021 for those businesses that have been forced to close as per the Federal Government directive
  • For those households that are eligible to receive the “Cost of Living Concession” there will be a once-off boost to the payment of $500
  • Access to accrued leave may be available for the public sector workforce where conditions are met

If you have questions about the above concessions and announcements including how they may apply to your business, please contact your Holman Hodge adviser.