Federal
JobKeeper Payment Extension 2 Starts Soon
The second JobKeeper Payment extension starts from Monday 4 January 2021 and covers the JobKeeper fortnights between Monday 4 January 2021 and Sunday 28 March 2021. If you are eligible for JobKeeper extension 2 you will need to complete a new decline in turnover test, however the payment rates for your eligible employees will change. If you are new to JobKeeper you can enrol in the program to participate in the remaining fortnights. There are extended reporting dates for JobKeeper fortnight 20 (Monday 21 December 2020 to Sunday 3 January 2021) – businesses will now have until the end of Monday 4 January 2021 to pay their employees, and monthly declarations for JobKeeper fortnights 18, 19 and 20 are now due 28 January 2021. For JobKeeper fortnights 21 and 22 (starting Monday 4 January 2021 and Monday 18 January 2021) businesses will now have until Sunday 31 January 2021 to meet the wage condition for eligible employees.
Apprentice Wage Subsidy – Expanded And Extended
The subsidy for small businesses has been extended to 31 March 2021 and now includes all small and medium-sized businesses (fewer than 200 employees) with apprentices on staff on 1 July 2020. Eligible employers can apply for a wage subsidy of 50% of the apprentice or trainee’s wages paid from 1 July 2020 to 31 March 2021, up to a cap of $7000 per quarter.
Boosting Cash Flow for Employers
If your small or medium-sized business employs staff and has an aggregated annual turnover under $50 million, you may be eligible for cash flow boost payments up to $100,000. Small to medium-sized businesses, not-for-profit organisations, sole traders, partnerships, companies and trusts may be eligible if they had an ABN on 12 March 2020 and continue to operate.
The cash flow boost provides tax free payments to employers and is automatically calculated by the ATO and delivered through the activity statement system. Eligible employers receive these boosts as credits upon lodging their activity statements for the March to September 2020 periods. Where this places an employer in a refund position, the Australian Taxation Office will generally deliver the refund within 14 days.