Following is a summary of the key relief incentives released by the NSW government, which is current as at 3 April 2020.

NSW Stimulus

Stage One: announced 17 March 2020

  • Waiver of a 25% of 2019-2020 payroll tax for businesses with grouped Australian taxable wages of up to $10 million. How to apply: Revenue NSW will automatically apply 25% reduction once the businesses have lodged their 2019-2020 annual payroll tax reconciliation. In the meantime, these eligible businesses do not need to pay their March, April and May monthly payroll tax.
  • Fast track of the next round of payroll tax cuts will raise the threshold limit to $1 million for the 2020-21 financial year. How to apply: Automatic, expected to be applied to monthly returns from 1 July.
  • Waiver of some charges and licencing fees for small businesses including bars, cafes, restaurants and tradespeople.
    The NSW State Government are yet to specify eligibility and which fees will be waived.
  • $250 million to employ additional cleaners of public infrastructure including public transport and schools as well as bringing forward of maintenance on public assets, bring forward capital works projects.

Stage Two: announced 27 March 2020

  • Businesses with payrolls of over $10m: deferral of payroll tax for 6 months.
  • Businesses with payrolls of less than $10m: 3 months waiver (as announced on 17 March) and an additional 3 month deferral of payroll tax.
  • Deferral of gaming machine tax for clubs, pubs and hotels for 6 months.
  • Deferral of parking space levy for 6 months.
  • Deferral of rent for commercial tenants in Government-owned properties with less than 20 employees for 6 months.

Stage Three: announced 3 April 2020

NSW small business will receive grants up to $10,000. The eligibility criteria are:

  • Have between 1-19 employees and a turnover of more than $75,000
  • A payroll below the NSW Government 2019-20 payroll tax threshold of $900,000
  • Have an Australian Business Number as at 1 March 2020, be based in NSW and employ staff as at 1 March 2020
  • Be highly impacted by the Public Health (COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement) Order 2020 issued on 30 March 2020
  • Use the funding for unavoidable business costs such as utilities, overheads, legal costs and financial advice.
  • Provide appropriate documentation upon application. How to apply: Eligible businesses will need to apply through Service NSW. The application will be available within a fortnight of the announcement and remain open until 1 June 2020.

For all the latest updates on the NSW stimulus package, please visit preview.nsw.gov.au/Covid-19

It is likely additional measures will be announced in the future as the COVID-19 crisis continues to change almost daily and governments continue look to assist business and jobs.

TNR will continue to keep you updated with further information on stimulus measures. For further updates, visit TNR’s COVID-19 Resource Centre to help you and your business in this challenging time.

TNR are here to help. Please do not hesitate to contact TNR if you would like to learn more about this latest stimulus package.

Kind regards

The TNR Team.

Important: The information contained in this post / article is not advice. Readers should not act solely on the basis of material contained in this post. Items herein are general comments only and do not constitute or convey advice per se. We recommend that our formal advice be sought before acting on anything contained in this post.