Read our detailed 2020-21 Budget Report here.
Due to COVID-19 changing the way we live, working from home is suddenly the new normal. Many taxpayers have set-up an office space in their homes and wonder what expenses they can claim and if claiming home office expenses will impact their entitlement to the main residence exemption.
As we begin to analyse the 2020/21 Budget papers, which is close to 1,000 pages, our initial reaction is positive and we are excited that there are stimulus measures for almost everyone. Personal tax cuts, employment incentives, company and business tax breaks, dwelling and infrastructure incentives, are all designed to ‘kick-start’ the massive Australian economic engine.
On 6 October 2020, the Treasurer, Mr Josh Frydenberg, presented the COVID-19 delayed 2020-21 Federal Budget. The Budget was directed at promoting spending, at a personal, business and government level to creating jobs.
On 15 September 2020, the Federal Government announced that the JobKeeper scheme would be extended beyond the initial end date of 27 September 2020 to further assist businesses affected by COVID-19.
The Federal Government has released yet more JobKeeper Rules changes. The JobKeeper scheme has now been amended 7 times with the 2 most recent changes taking place on 10 August 2020 and 14 August 2020.
The Federal Government have announced several key changes to the eligibility criteria that will be used to assess the eligibility for the JobKeeper extension.
Today, the Federal Government announced a six-month extension of the JobKeeper Payment Scheme until 28 March 2021. The current JobKeeper Payment Scheme will continue to operate as originally legislated until 27 September 2020 with no changes made to the current eligibility for businesses.
The Federal and WA State Government have recently both announced grants totalling $45,000 to support the build of new homes or the renovation of existing homes. Where these grants are combined with existing measures for first home buyers, eligible participants can receive payments and support of nearly $70,000.
The Australian Taxation Office (“ATO”) have today released the online application form for employers, sole traders, and eligible business participants (including company directors, trust beneficiaries and partners) to be able to enrol for the JobKeeper program. It is imperative that the enrolment form be completed by 30 April 2020 in order to access Jobkeeper payments for the month of April.
