VIRUS: Big govt assistance for small business

The federal government has unveiled a raft of packages created to help small and medium sized business – which includes the vast majority of printers – carry on working through the coronavirus scare.

The instant asset write-off threshold will be raised from its current $30,000 to $150,000. “Any such purchase from now until 30 June, including a truck, a tractor, a shop fit-out, can be written off immediately”, said Frydenberg. That includes a whole heap of print production equipment, with many digital colour print systems, wide format print systems, and finishing systems falling under the $150,000 marker.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said they are determined to keep business operating, and have provided a multi billion dollar assistance package, which has blown a massive $17.6bn hole in the budget.

For SMEs, which includes print businesses, those measures include a huge rise in the instant asset write off amount, significant help with apprentice wages for the next nine months, an instant grant, and a 50 per cent accelerated depreciation deduction.

PVCA CEO ANdrew Macaulay said, "As always when accessing Government assistance packages, members are best advised to act quickly before there is a backlog of applications. Also copy their local State and Federal member on their application."

The scheme is intended to get business investing, with the aim of ensuring the country does not falkl into a Q2 recession.

There will also be a 50 per cent accelerated depreciation deduction over and above what businesses can already deduct in the first year, with this available for 15 months to 30 June next year.

In addition the government will give businesses with a turnover of up to $50m a $25,000 tax free payment to assist with cashflow. This alone will cost the treasurer $6.7bn. Details are sketchy burt essentially if a business is employing staff and withholding tax on their wages, then up to half the amount of the wages can be claimed, up to a maximum of $25,000.

And in order to ensure businesses do not let apprentices go, the government will pay half their wages for the next nine months, up to $21,000 per apprentice, in a move that will cost it a further $1.3bn.

The government will take the plan to Parliament next week to get it legislated.

Macaulay said PVCA welcomed the package but urged the government to do more on cashflow, he said, "PVCA applauds any lessening of the tax burden on small to medium sized printers. We encourage the Government to look at offsets on tax that counter the cash flow issue which is facing all SMEs at the moment, not just on ways of encouraging spending of existing capital.”