The budget 2020 is targeted in helping individuals and SMEs. The budget has highlighted altogether 18 tax related reliefs, however some of the measures that are summarized as below:
Individual tax cuts- Stage 2 tax cuts announced earlier has been brought forward from 1 July 2022 to 1 July 2020. The stage 3 tax cuts will be applied on its scheduled FY i.e. 2024.
The bring forward of the Stage 2 personal tax cuts by two years means people who earn:
between $45,000 and $90,000 will have an additional $1,080 of post-tax income in 2020–21;
more than $120,000 will have an additional $2,565 of post-tax income in 2020–21.
Instant asset write-off: The immediate asset write-off for asset valued up to $ 150K that was scheduled to be switched off on 31 December 2020 has been given a modification. Businesses with turnover exceeding $ 5 billion will be able to instantly write off assets purchased after 7.:30 pm on 6th October 2020 and before 1st July 2022 giving a strong incentive for business to invest in capital upgrades. SMEs with annual aggregated turnover less than $ 50 million will also be able to write off second had assets.
Loss carry back- This measure temporarily allows businesses with a turnover of $ 5 billion or less to offset any tax losses up to June 2022 to offset against profits from 2019 FY onwards. I.e. the businesses might be able to get a tax refund for the losses they incur in FY 2020, 2021 and 2022 given they have paid tax in FY 2019.
JOBMAKER: The $4 billion JobMaker Hiring Credit will be payable for up to 12 months for each new job to employers who hire eligible employees (currently on JobSeeker) aged 16-35. The Hiring Credit will be paid quarterly in arrears at the rate of $200 per week for those aged 16-29, and $100 per week for those aged 30-35. Eligible employees are required to work a minimum of 20 hours per week.
Apprentice wage subsidy scheme – businesses that hire new apprentices will be eligible for a 50% wage subsidy. The $1.2 billion scheme will support 100,000 apprentices and be available to businesses of all sizes.
Manjeet GhimireBusiness Advisor Registered Tax Agent ASIC Agent CPA- AU ACMA (UK) Fellow- Tax Institute