WA COVID-19 $72m business assistance package

The Western Australian Government has announced a $72 million package for businesses impacted by the Level 2 public health and social measures.

The package includes:

The Small Business Hardship Grants Program
Payroll tax relief for large hospitality businesses
COVID-19 Commercial Sporting Franchises Support Program

Read on for more information, or contact your Ledge account executive to find out if you are eligible.

Small Business Hardship Grant Program

The Small Business Hardship Grants Program will provide tiered grants to businesses that have experienced a 50% or greater reduction in revenue for any two-week consecutive period between 1 January 2022 to 30 April 2022, compared to the equivalent period in 2021.

The grants being provided are as follows:

$3,000 for Non-employing businesses (business owner – no additional employees).
$7,500 for micro businesses (those with one to five employees).
$20,000 for small businesses (those with six to 19 employees).
$50,000 for medium-sized businesses (those with 20 or more employees and with an annual payroll of up to $4 million).

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the Small Business Hardship Grants businesses must:

Have a valid and active Australian Business Number (ABN).
Be currently trading in Western Australia and have an annual turnover of more than $50,000.00 excluding GST.
Have an Australia-wide payroll of less than $4 million.
Be able to demonstrate a 50% reduction in revenue for any two-week consecutive period between 1 January 2022 to 30 April 2022, compared to the equivalent period in 2021. Alternative comparative periods of two consecutive weeks between 1 January and 31
December 2021 will be considered if the equivalent period in 2021 provides an inaccurate representation of the business revenue performance, for example if the business was impacted by COVID-19 restrictions during the equivalent period in 2021.
Provide evidence of the number of FTE (full time equivalent employees) of their business.
Provide an unredacted PDF copy of their business bank statement showing 2022 transactions, a BSB, an account number and the business name associated with the application.

Either cash or accrual methodology can be used, provided the same method is used to demonstrate turnover for the comparative period.

In addition, an alternative period in 2021 may be used if the business did not operate at that time, or it provides an inaccurate representation of the business’ financial situation.

Business that are eligible to apply and receive funding from other recent business support programs, including the Level 1 COVID-19 Business Assistance Package, are also eligible to receive grants from the Level 2 package.

It is also possible to apply for multiple affected businesses provided each business has a separate ABN and employees.

Evidence Required

You will be required to provide evidence to demonstrate that your annual turnover exceeds $50,000 pa (excluding GST) and to prove that you have suffered a reduction of turnover of 50% or more.

For example:

A profit and loss statement from your bookkeeping/management system.
Business bank account transactions.
A sales report from your store Point of Sale system (if applicable).
Written confirmation letter from your accountant

Applications & Closing Date

All applications must be received by 4:00pm on the 30 June 2022 (AWST).

If you would like to discuss how these apply to your business, or would like assistance in claiming the grant, please contact your Ledge account executive who will be able to assist.

Payroll Tax Relief

Large hospitality businesses with payrolls between $4 million and $20 million will receive a three month payroll tax waiver if they have experienced at least a 50% drop in turnover over for any four week period between 1 January 2022 and 30 April 2022, comparable to the same period last year.

Prepared by David Calcei & Tony Donatelli – Directors Icon Financial Management (29 March 2022)

Please note the information provided here is general in nature and does not constitute financial, tax or other professional advice. You should consider whether the information is appropriate for your needs and seek professional advice prior to making any decisions.

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Please note the information provided on this page is general in nature and does not constitute financial, taxation or other professional advice. You should consider whether the information is appropriate for your needs and seek professional advice prior to making any decisions.