On the 12th of March the Government announced a stimulus package for Australian businesses to keep the economy moving forwards in these uncertain times. Small to medium-sized businesses are the backbone of this country’s economy and employ tens of millions of people across the country.
Every business plays its part and the Government has come to the table with a package designed to keep those business going in as much of a ‘business as usual’ way as possible.
The package includes several elements to help businesses invest in their success during these challenging times and focuses on benefiting 6.5 million individuals and 3.5 million businesses directly. Of note is the increase of the instant asset write-off to $150,000, a massive increase from the current limit of $30,000!
There are several parts to the stimulus package and include:
- Delivering support for business investment
- Cash flow assistance for businesses
- Stimulus payments to households to support growth
- Assistance for severely-affected regions
At its core the financial stimulus package will help businesses by providing the following support to keep businesses investing in themselves:
- $700 million to increase the instant asset write-off threshold from $30,000 to $150,000 and expand to include businesses with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $500 million (up from $50 million).
- $3.2 billion to back business investment by providing a time limited 15 month investment incentive (through to June 30 2021) to support business investment and economic growth over the short term, by accelerating depreciation deductions. Businesses with a turnover of less than $500 million will be able to deduct an additional 50% of the asset cost in the year of the purchase.
Assets that can be immediately written off in the stimulus package include items like commercial furniture and equipment, commercial kitchen equipment, computer equipment and inhouse software for hospitality venues. These measures are designed to support over 3.5 million businesses – over 99% of all the businesses in Australia.
The measures are designed to support businesses in sticking with their investment plans and encouraging them to bring investment forward to support economic growth sooner rather than later.
Keep Safe,
From The Team at Lindsay Wilson Concepts