A summary of the Australia State Governments supports –in a nutshell.

What’s on offer from the state governments seems much clearer that wading through Jobkeeper process. There is some variation between the states, but states have a combination of cash money, refunds, deferments and support that is helpful to especially small businesses.

VIC

$10K Business Support Fund

For Tattoo shops, cafes and restaurants, pubs and hairdressers amount many others
– Have been subject to closure or highly impacted by Non-Essential Activity Directions issued by the Deputy Chief Health Officer to-date External link (opens in same window); 
– Employ people; 
– Have a turnover of more than $75,000; 
– Have payroll of less than $650,000; 
– Hold an Australian Business Number (ABN) and held that ABN at 16 March 2020 (when the State of Emergency was declared); and
– Have been engaged in carrying out the operation of the business in the Australian State of Victoria on 16 March 2020.

Payroll Tax waived
Businesses with annual Victorian taxable wages up to $3 million will have their payroll tax for the 2019-20 financial year waived.
Great as a lot of businesses have already received their refunds

Liquor licence fees waived
Businesses that have paid for a renewable liquor licence for 2020 will be reimbursed their licence fee and those yet to pay will have the fee waived. Unfortunately, most of the businesses that will benefit have already closed or being severely affected.

Land tax deferral
Landowners due to pay 2020 land tax that have at least one non-residential property and total taxable landholdings below $1 million have the option of deferring their 2020 land tax payment until after 31 December 2020.
Certainly an argument to say that landlords have been assisted to help tenants needing relief

NSW

$10K Business Support Fund

For Tattoo shops, cafes and restaurants, pubs and hairdressers amount many others
– be based in NSW
– be a small business (see guidelines)
– be registered with an ABN as at 1 March 2020
– have an annual turnover of more than $75,000 (a Business Activity Statement must be provided as evidence)
– employ 1-19 full-time workers as at 1 March 2020 
– be able to report a payroll below the NSW 2019-2020 payroll tax threshold of $900,000
– have been highly impacted by Public Health (COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement) Order 2020 effective on 31 March 2020 
– have experienced at least 75% decline in turnover compared to the same two-week period in 2019, as a result of COVID-19 (for businesses that have been in operation for less than 12 months, refer to the guidelines)
– have unavoidable business costs not otherwise the subject of other NSW and Commonwealth Government financial assistance measures.

Payroll tax changes
(1) Tax-free threshold increase from $900,000 to $1 million.
(2) Deferral of payroll tax for business with payrolls over $10 million for 6 months (up to $4 billion deferred).
(3) An additional 3-month deferral for businesses with payrolls of $10 million or less who received a 3-month waiver on payroll tax in the first package.

More a deferment than a refund such as Victoria – it’s still got to be paid

Deferral of gaming tax for clubs, pubs and hotels, and lotteries tax for 6 months, conditional on these funds being used to retain staff. This improves liquidity and helps these businesses stay afloat.  

Deferral of the parking space levy for 6 months.

Deferral of rents for 6 months for commercial tenants with less than 20 employees in all Government-owned properties.

Queensland

Payroll tax relief
All small and medium businesses (annual payrolls of $6.5 million or less)
Refunds of payroll tax for 2 months (Nov 19 & Dec 19)
A payroll tax holiday for 3 months (Jan – Mar 20)
Deferral of paying payroll tax for the 2020 calendar year till 14 Jan 21
Larger businesses
Refunds of payroll tax for 2 months (Jan 20 & Feb 20)
Deferral of paying payroll tax for the 2020 calendar year till 14 Jan 21

Offering some real cash to businesses

1. Job support loan
   • Maximum loan up to $250,000
   • No repayments or interest charged for the first year
   • Plus two years interest only
   • 2.5% fixed interest rate
   • 10-year term of loan
   • Open until 25 September 2020 or until funding is fully committed.

Apply online: https://applyonline.qrida.qld.gov.au/login

Electricity bill relief
Sole traders, small and medium businesses will get a $500 rebate on their power bill. Any business consuming less than 100,000 kilowatt hours will receive the rebate, which will be automatically applied on business electricity bills.

waiving 2020–21 liquor licencing fees

Support for tourism industry

• waiving application fees for some variations to liquor licences
• waiving registration renewal fees for Inbound Tour Operators
• waiving of daily fees for commercial activity agreements and permits
• rebate on Marina Charges and Passenger Levies
• deferral of Tourism Lease Rent Payments

SA

1. $10K Emergency Cash Grants for Small Businesses
   To be eligible, businesses and not-for-profits including eligible sporting and community organisations will need to:
   – Employ people in South Australia.
   – Have annual turnover of more than $75,000 (GST exclusive).
   – Have an annual payroll of less than $1.5 million, and not be entitled to a payroll tax waiver under COVID-19 support measures introduced by the South Australian Government.
   – Have an ABN and were carrying on the operation of the business in South Australia on 1 March 2020.
   – Have been subject to closure or highly impacted by COVID-19 related restrictions^.
   – Apply by 1 June 2020.
   – Use the funds to support activities related to the operation of the business.

If:

– The business has received any South Australian Government grants provided to address COVID-19 related business impacts, the value of these payment(s) will be deducted from the $10,000 grant.

– The business is part of a group of companies that is registered for payroll tax and will receive the payroll tax waiver, the business is ineligible for this grant.

2. Payroll tax relief
Business groups with annual Australian wages of up to $4 million will receive a six month payroll tax waiver. Eligible business groups will not be required to pay any payroll tax in the months of April to September 2020.

3.Land tax package
businesses and individuals paying land tax quarterly in 2019-20 will be able to defer payment of their remaining 2019-20 land tax payments for six months.
In addition, the Government will increase the existing land tax transition fund relief, from 50% to 100% of the increase in an eligible taxpayer’s 2020-21 land tax assessment

4.waiver of annual liquor licencing fees for 2020-21 

WA

1. A one-off $17,500 grants for small businesses with a payroll between $1 million and $4 million.
2. Payroll tax
   – The threshold will be increased to $1 million on 1 July 2020.  This replaces the previously announced increase planned for 1 January 2021. 
   – Payroll tax will be waived from March to June 2020 for employers, or groups of employers, whose Australian taxable wages are less than $7.5 million at 30 June 2020.
3. The WA Government will waive rental payments for small businesses and not-for-profit groups in State Government-owned buildings for six months.
4. One-off $2,500 credit on electricity bills for small businesses that consume less than 50MWh per annum. For more information read the statements on the Synergy and Horizon Power websites.
5. Power and water disconnections will not occur and interest will not be charged on deferred payments until 30 September for small businesses facing financial difficulty due to COVID-19. Please note: This applies to Synergy and Horizon Power customers.
6. Payroll tax will be waived for four months for businesses with annual wages under $7.5 million (NB: this replaces the previous payroll deferral measure which was announced).
7. Affected businesses can apply for interest-free payment arrangements and for late payment penalties to be waved for a range of taxes and duties, including payroll tax, transfer duty, landholder duty, vehicle licence duty or land tax.
8. A range of business licence fees has been waived, including liquor licence renewal fees for 2020, which will be waived and refunds given to businesses that have already paid.

ACT

1. Payroll Tax
   – All businesses whose operations are directly affected by the prohibited activities list will be eligible to receive a six-month waiver of payroll tax from April to September 2020.
   – All ACT businesses with Australia-wide wages of up to $10 million can defer their 2020-21 payroll tax, interest free until 1 July 2022. 
2. Fee waivers
   (1) food industries
   Off licenced venues with gross liquor purchase value of below $3 million per annum and licenced venues will receive a 12-month waiver of their food business registration and liquor licencing fees from 1 April 2020. Outdoor dining fees for 2020-2021 will also be waived.
   (2) other business
   The government will waive fees for 12 months from 1 April 2020 for businesses that require an infection control licence such as beauty therapists, nail salons, tattoo parlours and dentists.
   (3) Rideshare and taxi
   The Rideshare vehicle licence fee will be waived for 12 months for rideshare operators from 1 April 2020 as part of the normal licencing processes.
   The ACT Government will waive all government leased taxi plate fees, including wheelchair accessible taxis to help support this vital service. This initiative will help to keep taxis on the road.
   The government will also provide a one-off payment of up to $5,000 to taxi operators who lease their taxi plates from private owners. 
3. Electricity rebates
   Small business owners with electricity usage below 100 megawatts per year will see rebates of $750
4. Commercial general rates
   Commercial property owners with an Average Unimproved Value below $2 million on their property are eligible for a rebate on their commercial rates fixed charge.
   Commercial rate payers will receive a credit of $2,622 (equivalent to the annual fixed charge) to their 2019-20 general rates, in quarter four.
5. Rental relief to tenants of ACT Government owned properties
   The ACT Government will review rent charges for commercial tenants of ACT Government properties whose operations have been significantly impacted by COVID-19.
   Commercial tenants that can demonstrate this may receive rental relief for up to six-months from 1 April 2020 will need to email ACT Property Group at [email protected]

NT

1. Business improvement grant

All Territory businesses will be able to access a $10,000 grant. 
You can use the grant to purchase goods and services to make permanent physical improvements to a business (land and / or building) that help its operations and customer experience.
Eligible works must:
– include a labour component and
– be carried out by an eligible business that is not related to the grant recipient.
For work valued at more than $10,000, the co-contribution by the Territory Government is limited to $10,000 on a dollar-for-dollar basis up to a maximum grant of $20,000.

2.Small Business survival fund

This fund is specifically targeted at supporting industries such as retail, hospitality, tourism and entertainment businesses.

Eligible businesses will be able to apply for two payments an immediate survival payment of between $2,000 and $50,000 to help offset the immediate cost pressures on businesses a rapid adaption payment of between $1,000 and $5,000 to help businesses make the necessary changes they need to help adapt to the new operating environment.

TAS

1. Business continuity grant
   Businesses can receive up to $750 toward the cost of engaging the services of a suitably qualified person to advice on business continuity planning
2. Business support loan scheme
   Loans from $20 000 up to $250 000 are available to assist eligible businesses for the purpose of supporting business continuity, viability and sustainability during the Coronavirus period. The loans are now open.
3. Business vehicle registration relief
   – Small businesses looking to suspend activity due to the COVID-19 business downturn and trading restrictions can apply to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to freeze their business vehicle registrations for both light and heavy vehicles for up to 12 months
   – For heavy vehicles of over 4.5 tonnes the government will waive fees for registration and the road component of motor tax for 12 months.
4. Small business emergency support grant
   Round 2 of the Emergency Support Grants with grants of $2,500 available to those businesses under severe hardship and who have not yet received funding under the first round.
   For the purpose of this Round, the definition of small business has been lifted to having less than 25 FTE employees, and the eligibility is no longer limited to targeted areas but is available to any business experiencing severe hardship that meets the criteria of a loss in revenue of greater than 30 per cent.
5. Small business hardship grant
   Grants of $15 000 will be available and applications will be accepted from businesses that employ fewer than 50 FTEs.
   Grants of will be available to those businesses that:
   – can meet the hardship test, and
   – can demonstrate an ability to continue to operate in the current environment and provide products or services necessary for the Tasmanian or Australian community, or
   – may need to temporarily cease operation but can demonstrate strong prospects for future jobs sustainment or growth.

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