Blog Layout

Victorian Business Support Fund - Expansion Program open until 14 September 2020

Lowe Lippmann Chartered Accountants

Victorian Business Support Fund – Expansion Program open until 14 September 2020


On Monday (3 rd August 2020), the Victorian Government announced updated restrictions to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in Victoria by introducing the following:

  • Stage 4 Restrictions are in place from 6pm on Sunday 2 August for metropolitan Melbourne ; and
  • Stage 3 Restrictions are in place from 11:59pm on Wednesday 5 August for Regional Victoria, including Mitchell Shire .

This combination of restrictions means that many businesses will have to operate in a limited capacity, or unfortunately can no longer operate until restrictions are lifted.

 


What is the additional business support?


To support businesses impacted by these restrictions, an additional one-off cash grant has been made available to eligible businesses under the VIC Business Support Fund – Expansion Program as follows:

  • $10,000 grant for employing businesses in metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire in recognition of spending longer under "lockdown" restrictions; and
  • $5,000 grant for employing businesses in regional local government areas (except Mitchell Shire)

Importantly, businesses which have already received the last $5,000 Business Support Fund Expansion Grant (when Stage 3 Restrictions were announced for metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire on 10 July 2020), will not need to re-apply.   All successful applicants will automatically receive approval for an additional $5,000 (making the total grant payment $10,000 for the eligible employing businesses in the 31 metropolitan Melbourne Local Government Areas and Mitchell Shire to reflect the sustained period of Stage 3 and Stage 4 "Stay at Home" restrictions under this Business Support Fund Expansion Program).

 

If you did not apply for the $5,000 Business Support Fund Expansion Grant (when Stage 3 Restrictions were announced for metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire on 10 July 2020), you will need to complete the application process explained below.

 


What type of business can apply for this expanded grant?


Businesses can apply where they meet all of the criteria listed below, including:

  • operating a business located in metropolitan Melbourne or regional Victoria;
  • participating in the JobKeeper Payment scheme;
  • the business employs people;
  • registered with WorkSafe on 30 June 2020;
  • have an annual payroll of less than $3 million in 2019-20 (on an ungrouped basis);
  • registered for GST as at 30 June 2020;
  • holds an Australian Business Number ( ABN ), and has held that ABN as at 30 June 2020; and
  • registered with the responsible Federal or State regulator (such as the Australian Securities and Investment Commission ( ASIC ), the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission ( ACNC ), or Consumer Affairs Victoria ( CAV )).

Businesses that have received funding from other components of the Victorian Government's Economic Survival Package are eligible to apply for this program.


Applicants should be aware of the "fine print".

  • B usiness owners (including sole traders and partnerships) that do not employ staff (ie. non-employing businesses) are not eligible for funding through this program, as eligible businesses must employ persons other than themselves.
  • The applicant must be able to provide a WorkCover Employer Number ( WEN ), which is used to validate with WorkSafe that the business employs people and that they have a registered business operation within the relevant Victorian region.
  • Not-for-profit entities and charities with annual revenue between $75,000 and $150,000 that are not registered for GST and are registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission (ACNC) are eligible to apply.
  • If you have more than one business registered with different ABNs and they can individually meet the relevant criteria, you may be eligible for a grant for each business, and you would need to submit a separate application for each business.

How can the grant funds be used?


If approved, the one-off cash grant of $10,000 or $5,000 may be used to assist the business with:

  • meeting business costs (including utilities, salaries or rent);
  • seeking financial, legal or other advice to support business continuity planning;
  • developing the business through marketing and communications activities; or
  • any other supporting activities related to the operation of the business.

How to apply?


Applicants must submit an application online via the 'Apply now' button from the Business Victoria website – click here

Applications for the expanded grant are open until 14 September 2020.

If you require help to complete your application form, you can call Business Victoria on 13 22 15.

 


What information is needed for the application?


All questions in the application must be completed and any requested documentation attached (as a PDF) to ensure timely assessment and grant payment.   Examples of relevant documents include evidence of the address of their eligible business operation through their most recent utility bill (ie. gas, electricity, telecommunications, water), lease agreement, or council rate notice.

 

Applicants must also provide evidence of their participation in the JobKeeper Payment scheme, for example, by providing evidence of the most recent submitted JobKeeper Payment business monthly declaration.

As part of the assessment process, evidence provided by applicants may be subject to a check with other government agencies including the VIC State Revenue Office, WorkSafe and ASIC.

 

Applicants will be subject to an audit by the Victorian Government or its representatives and will be required to produce evidence (such as payroll reports to demonstrate impact) at the request of the Victorian Government for a period of four years after the grant has been approved .

 

If any information in the application is found to be false or misleading, or grants are not applied for the purposes of the business in accordance with the terms of funding as set out in these guidelines and attached application, the grant will be repayable to the Victorian Government on demand.

________________________________________________________________
  Please do not hesitate to contact your Lowe Lippmann Relationship Partner if you wish to discuss any of these matters further
19 Mar, 2024
2024 FBT Year End is Fast Approaching! The end of the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) year is fast approaching on 31 March 2024, so we take this opportunity to revisit some hot FBT topics for both employers and employees, including: FBT exemption for electric cars Work from home arrangements Contractor or employee Mismatched information for entertainment claimed as a deduction and what is reported for FBT purposes Employee contributions by journal entry Not lodging FBT returns Housekeeping essentials
06 Mar, 2024
Super contribution caps to rise The big news story for those contributing to super is that the contribution caps are set to increase from 1 July 2024 . The concessional contribution cap will increase from $27,500 to $30,000 . This 'CC' cap is broadly applicable to employer super guarantee contributions, personal deductible contributions and salary sacrificed contributions. The non-concessional contribution cap will increase from $110,000 to $120,000 . This 'NCC' cap is generally applicable to personal non-deductible contributions. The increase in the NCC cap also means that the maximum available under the three-year bring forward provisions will increase from $330,000 to $360,000 . This is provided that the 'bring forward' is triggered on or after 1 July 2024. The 'total superannuation balance' threshold for being able to make non-concessional contributions (and the pension general transfer balance cap) will remain at $1.9 million . We recently released a Tax Alert on this topic, to see full details click here .
23 Feb, 2024
Superannuation contribution caps to increase from 1 July 2024 The Federal Government has announced some key changes to the superannuation system that will take effect from 1 July 2024 . Key changes include an increase in the concessional and non-concessional contribution caps, the bring forward caps, and the total superannuation balance thresholds that apply to determine the maximum amount of bring forward non-concessional contributions available to members.
05 Feb, 2024
Government announces changes to proposed 'Stage 3' tax cuts Despite previous assurances, and after much speculation, the Government has announced tweaks to the 'Stage 3' tax cuts that will apply from 1 July 2024. More particularly, the Government proposes to: reduce the 19% tax rate to 16%; reduce the 32.5% tax rate to 30% for incomes between $45,000 and a new $135,000 threshold; increase the threshold at which the 37% tax rate applies from $120,000 to $135,000; and increase the threshold at which the 45% tax rate applies from $180,000 to $190,000. The Medicare levy low-income thresholds for the 2024 income year will also be increased. We recently released a Tax Alert on this topic, to see full details click here .
25 Jan, 2024
Government announces changes to planned Stage 3 tax cuts The Federal Government has now announced changes to the marginal tax rates (and income thresholds, or brackets) starting from 1 July 2024. The announcement is a move away from the planned “Stage 3 tax cuts”. What were the planned Stage 3 tax cuts? The previous Coalition Government announced a long-term plan to implement three stages of reduced marginal tax rates and brackets between the 2018-19 and 2024-25 income years, with the final Stage 3 tax cuts due to start from 1 July 2024. The current Labor Government agreed in the last election to keep these changes. What are the announced changes? The changes to the Stage 3 tax cuts will now provide lower to middle income earners with greater tax relief and effectively halve the tax cuts for higher income earners.
14 Jan, 2024
Property developers should be aware of upcoming changes to Victorian state taxes During the 2023 calendar year, the Victorian Parliament passed some significant changes to various state taxes, including land tax, duty and the Windfall Gains Tax. The key detail to note is that not all of these changes have the same starting dates, so we will consider the changes in order, on a timeline basis.
13 Dec, 2023
Christmas Parties & Gifts 2023 With the well-earned 2023 holiday season on the way, many employers will be planning to reward staff with a celebratory party or event. However, there are important issues to consider, including the possible FBT and income tax implications of providing 'entertainment' (including Christmas parties) to staff and clients.
13 Dec, 2023
ATO's lodgment penalty amnesty is about to end The ATO is remitting failure to lodge penalties for eligible small businesses. Businesses which have not yet taken advantage of the ATO's lodgment penalty amnesty only have until 31 December 2023 to do so. Businesses must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible for the amnesty: had an annual turnover under $10 million when the original lodgment was due; have overdue income tax returns, business activity statements or FBT returns that were due between 1 December 2019 and 28 February 2022; and lodge between 1 June and 31 December 2023. When taxpayers lodge their eligible income tax returns, business activity statements and FBT returns, failure to lodge penalties will be remitted without the need to apply. The amnesty does not apply to privately owned groups or individuals controlling over $5 million of net wealth. Directors who bring their company lodgments up to date can also have penalties remitted and, if they are reliant on company lodgments to finalise their own tax affairs, any failure to lodge penalties will be remitted. This also applies to eligible lodgments made between 1 June and 31 December 2023.
07 Dec, 2023
Background For the year ending 31 December 2024, VRLT only impacts properties in 16 of Melbourne’s inner and middle suburbs, which is imposed in addition to any other land tax or surcharge land tax that may apply. A property is taken to be “vacant” if it has not been lived in for more than six months out of a calendar year, and this does not need to be a consecutive period of occupancy. Determining whether a property is “vacant” is done by considering the use of the land in the year that immediately precedes the relevant land tax year (ie. the use in the 2024 calendar year will determine whether VRLT applies in 2025).  VRLT is an annual tax for vacant land (subject to some exemptions), and for the year ending 31 December 2024, the VRLT rate is 1.0% of the capital improved value ( CIV ) of taxable land. The CIV of a property is a value of the land, buildings and any other capital improvements made to the property as determined by the general valuation process. It is displayed on the council rates notice for the property.
28 Nov, 2023
Background During February 2023, the Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Measures No 1) Bill 2023 ( the Bill ) was introduced to improve the integrity of off-market share buy-backs undertaken by listed public companies. These measures were first announced in the October 2022–23 Federal Budget. At that time, the difference between the total purchase price and that part of the purchase price debited against the company's share capital account (in relation to the off-market share buy-back ) was taken to be a dividend, which could be franked where imputation credits were available. Conversely, at that time, in the case of an on-market buy-back (ie. on an exchange in the ordinary course of trading), no part of the buy-back price was treated as a dividend and the total amount received by the shareholder was treated as consideration for the sale of the shares. The amendments put forward in the Bill proposed to ensure that where a listed public company undertakes an off-market share buy-back of a share, no part of the purchase price in response of the buy-back will be taken to be a dividend.
More Posts
Share by: