March 27 – Tasmanian Support & Stimulus Package

The State Government has released further details about its second tranche of stimulus measures for Tasmania.

The $1 billion support package includes payroll tax relief, incentives to invest and rebates on electricity.  

Small Business Grants  

• $2,500 emergency support grants available to small business with up to 20 employees
• Businesses must have been operating from January 2019 or earlier and be operating in one of the following industries: 
   
  • Seafood
  • Tourism and accommodation 
  • Hospitality 
  • Retail  
  • Arts and entertainment 
  • Fitness 
     
• Apply here Emergency Support Grant application 
• Businesses applying for the emergency support grant will also be able to later apply for a $15,000 hardship grant 
• More information here 

Interest Free Business Loans  

• Available to majority Tasmanian owned businesses with turnover of up to $10 million 
• Loans from $20k to $250k 
• Interest free for 3 years 
• Maximum term 5 years 
• Among other things the loans can be used to purchase equipment, improve distribution, ensure business continuity  
• More information here Business Support Loan Scheme factsheet 

Electricity & water 

• Electricity and water bill will be waived for small businesses  
• For the first quarterly bill received after 1 April 
• Applies to Tariffs 22, 94, 82 or 75 
• From 1 July electricity bills will be capped and water bills will be frozen

Payroll Tax relief  

• Available for businesses in the hospitality, tourism & seafood industries as well as other businesses with a payroll of less than $5 million 
• The Government will extend the already announced relief to ensure that these industries pay no payroll tax for the entire 2019-20 year 
• Waiver of payroll tax related to employees under 24yrs 
• Details are limited at this stage but will include refunds and waivers to provide cash where it is required now 

Vehicle registration freeze/extension 

• If you aren’t using your business vehicle you can apply to freeze the registration 
• When reactivated, registration will be extended by the number of days it was frozen 
• You can’t drive the vehicle whilst the registration is frozen 
• You should consider the implications to your vehicle insurance as the result of freezing the registration 
• For heavy vehicles over 4.5 tonnes, registration fees and the road component of motor tax will be waived for 12 months 
• More information can be found here Business vehicle registration relief factsheet 
• Applications here https://www.transport.tas.gov.au/registration/registration_business_support_package 

Business Continuity grant 

• One off grants of $750  
• Used to obtain professional advice to assist small business to prepare for a rapid recovery when COVID-19 crisis is over 
• Advice must be from a suitably qualified consultant e.g. your accountant  
• More information can be found here Business Continuity Grant factsheet 
• Applications can be made online at https://stategrowth.smartygrants.com.au/BusinessContinuityProgram

Please contact your advisor at WLF if you have any concerns about any of these measures.