After what was a stressful week for most us of, hopefully everyone could take the weekend to relax and spend some quality time with their families.
Times like this are extremely difficult, and it is so easy to slip into a spiral of negative thoughts and doubts. During periods like this, it is more important than ever to make an effort to switch off and just be present with the people who are most important to us.
Government stimulus support
Late last week, the Government announced the next round of stimulus/support to help keep our economy moving.
An additional $15bn has been allocated to the banking sector which is to be used to support the SME sector where banks will allow businesses to breach covenants, to allow them to continue to pay their staff, and be in a position to trade normally when things start to clear up with a 3 year plan. Today, the Australian Banking Association has announced it will defer all loan repayments from SME’s for 6 months.
Interest rates & lending to small businesses
The RBA has cut interest rates on fixed interest and business lending to further support cash flow. They are also incentivising banks to increase lending to the Australian business sector in an effort to try and keep people in jobs.
If you havent heard from your bank yet, we strongly suggest that you reach out to them to see how they can support your business.
Support to help keep your staff employed
For those of you with payroll tax obligations, the office of state revenue has granted an extension of payment due dates on all lodgements from March to June 2020, until August 3, 2020 (although you still need to continue to lodge your numbers on time during this period).
As we draft this email (on a Sunday morning), the Government is announcing a further stimulus. Early commentary is that small businesses will receive a tax free payment of between $20,000 and $100,000 to keep their staff employed (building on what has been announced previously).
We will keep these regular emails coming, and will have more information about this latest support in our next update in the coming days. This situation is constantly evolving, and we will do our best to keep you informed. As always, if you have any questions or would like any further assistance, our team at MT Corportae Advisory will be here to help.
Looking forward to talking to you soon!
The Directors,
Tim, Warren and Josh.