The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has issued a statement in recognition of these difficult times for business. The statement included a number of tax relief options to reduce stress and help keep SMEs open for business through projected downturn.

Businesses who have no financial stress or concerns may be able to continue to meet their tax payment obligations.

Those who are concerned for the financial security of their business can explore immediate tax relief, including:

• Deferring by up to six months the payment date of amounts due through the business activity statement (including PAYG instalments), income tax assessments, fringe benefits tax assessments and excise
• Allowing businesses on a quarterly reporting cycle to opt into monthly GST reporting in order to get quicker access to GST refunds they may be entitled to
• Allowing businesses to vary Pay As You Go (PAYG) instalment amounts to zero for the March 2020 quarter. Businesses that vary their PAYG instament to zero can also claim a refund for any instalments made for the September 2019 and December 2019 quarters.
• Remitting any interest and penalties incurred on or after 23 January 2020, that have been applied to tax liabilities
• Working with affected businesses to help them pay their existing and ongoing tax liabilities by allowing them to enter into low interest payment plans

We are actively working with our clients to adjust tax payments and reporting to ease the pressure where it is necessary. Relief is also available for NSW land and payroll taxes.

If you’d like to talk to us about this, please contact us here.