Small and medium businesses impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak will be able to defer their payroll tax payment for six months under new relief measures announced by the Office of State Revenue.
Deputy Premier and Treasurer, Jackie Trad said the payroll tax initiative enabled eligible businesses with an annual wage bill of up to $6.5 million to self-assess whether their business had been impacted by conditions associated with COVID-19.
“We’ve already announced a $27.25 million package of measures to help businesses across the State, but we’ve known from the start the impact of the virus is evolving, so our measures to address it must evolve as well,” Ms Trad said.
“Small and medium businesses are especially vulnerable to these external shocks, so we are giving them the option to defer their payroll tax obligations for six months, backdated to when the travel ban started on 1 February.”
Minister for Employment and Small Business, Shannon Fentiman said the support package would be available to small and medium businesses across all sectors.
“The most immediate impact of Coronavirus has been on the tourism, export and education sectors, but we recognise that as the outbreak spreads, its impacts spread as well,” Ms Fentiman said.
“What we need now is the Federal Government to match our initial commitment to industries suffering from these impacts.”
Ms Fentiman said the Office of State Revenue would work with affected businesses to create repayment plans for the deferred tax liabilities.
