Assistance provided by ATO to businesses

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has released information relating to the support they will provide to businesses in these unprecedented times and as a result of the COVID-19 virus.

The ATO has advised that all support measures will need to be applied for and will not be automatically granted. However, the support measures should be considered by each client that has been impacted by COVID-19 and applied for on a needs basis:

Payment deferrals

If businesses can demonstrate that they have been impacted by COVID-19, the ATO will consider providing payment deferrals of up to 4 months for income tax liabilities, activity statements liabilities, FBT and excise duty.

GST credits

Quarterly taxpayers can apply to change their GST reporting to monthly to claim their GST credits (and potentially refunds) earlier.

Remitting interest and penalties

The ATO has advised that they will consider remitting interest and penalties on tax liabilities incurred after 23 January 2020.

Payment plans

For businesses impacted by COVID-19, the ATO will consider approving low-interest payment plans.

In addition to the above, it is noted that businesses are able to vary their March 2020 PAYG instalment if they believe the amount of the instalment / instalment rate is no longer applicable given the financial position.

If you have any further questions relating to the above, please contact your client service partner on (03) 9810 0700.

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