STIMULUS PACKAGE – JOBKEEPER PAYMENT UPDATE
The government has now released the full set of rules in respect of the JobKeeper payment.
A link to the full version of rules can be found here.
Also, important information regarding JobKeeper payments is available as follows
EMPLOYERS TO NOTE
The turnover test requires that your turnover (defined as GST turnover in the rules) has, or is expected to decrease for at least one month during one of the turnover test periods, as compared to the same period in 2019. The turnover test periods are:
- A month ended from March 2020 to September 2020
- A quarter that starts on 1 April 2020 or 1 July 2020
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has an alternative test for businesses that do not have a comparative turnover period in 2019. We expect more information to be available when the registration process opens this week.
You will be required to report to the ATO your monthly turnover for the previous month, and projected turnover for the coming month by the 7th of each month. We expect that a portal will be created to allow for this reporting. If you do not report your turnover, you will lose your entitlement to JobKeeper payments for that previous month. Note that the monthly reporting requirement is purely for the Government to be able to measure national economic impact of the Coronavirus, and it is not necessary to meet the turnover test more than once.
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
It is important you are aware of the reporting requirements:
- Notify the ATO of your intention to participate in the scheme. You are required to perform this by 26 April 2020 if you want to participate in the first JobKeeper fortnight;
- Obtain consent from the employee to be included in the application;
- Provide details of each eligible employee each fortnight. Single Touch Payroll will be the main tool used for this function;
- Notify all eligible employees within 7 days of each fortnightly claim of the subsidy;
- As advised earlier, report monthly your GST turnover for the previous month, and the projected GST turnover for the upcoming month.
SOLE TRADERS, COMPANIES, TRUST AND PARTNERSHIPS
The JobKeeper payment will be payable to those self- employed persons as follows:
- A sole trader;
- For a trust, where the beneficiaries of the trust are not employees registered under the JobKeeper program, one adult beneficiary of the trust;
- For a company where the shareholders take dividends as opposed to wages, one Director/Shareholder;
- For a Partnership, one adult partner.
We are still awaiting guidance on the reporting requirements for taxpayers that fall into any of the above categories and will advise as and when further information becomes available.
We encourage you to review these requirements to ensure you do not miss out on receiving any payments under the program.
Please note we as tax agents are able to enrol you for the JobKeeper Payment Scheme from the 20 April 2020 using the ATO’s Online services for agents.
Please contact our office on 07 5585 0600 if you require any assistance for further advice regarding the application and ongoing reporting requirements for JobKeeper Payments.
