Small Business have enough to deal with already.
Now Service NSW have sprung up and advised that businesses will need to retest their eligibility each fortnight from 10 September 2021 to continue to receive JobSaver payments.
This will mean every fortnight businesses will need to reassess if they continue to meet the minimum decline in turnover employee headcount requirements, to continue receiving fortnightly JobSaver payments.
Every fortnight.
That means bookwork up to date, to the day, run reports, complete online forms OR pay someone to do it for you.
Every fortnight!
Or, and we don’t recommend it whatsoever, just tick the box and say, yes, and deal with the specifics later. (Tip: Read the fine print that will say it’s illegal to make fraudulent statements)
Thanks to some awesome industry lobbying, the Government have announced a grace period for the first fortnightly payment after 10 September 2021. Most businesses will have received an email requesting this first confirmation already.
Accounting industry bodies continue to lobby with respect to this to get a manageable solution.
There is no doubt payments can’t continue forever, and there needs to be a check in of eligibility, however the way this has been proposed shows those in charge just don’t understand the logistics.
Hopefully sanity prevails. Perhaps with a monthly reporting requirement or a self assessed withdrawal requirement, a bit like any other threshold related matter like GST or Pay as you go withholding cycles.
If your business is affected I’d suggest a few practical things:
1. Keep an eye on Service NSW login for grace period changes. If your accountant applied for you, they should know what action is required and advise as necessary.
2. Keep bookwork up to date (even if only the income side)
3. Don’t just tick “YES”
4. Put your concerns in writing to your local member. The more noise we make, the more chance of a common sense solution being put in place.
If you would like to discuss your specific situation, please get in touch.
