Article written by West Carr & Harvey accountants Geelong, used with permission
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Good news
1. Grant program available for local Geelong businesses
The State Government of Victoria has recently announced a grant program to help grow local businesses in Geelong. Up to $2 million Government funding is available to support job creating projects.
The program is called the Local Industry Fund for Transition (LIFT) and it has been designed to provide support for the community experiencing a period of transition as a result of the closure of Ford.
LIFT grants are available to businesses who wish to expand their operations and create new opportunities in areas impacted by the automotive closure.
More information is available at
http://www.business.vic.gov.au/support-for-your-business/grants-and-assistance/local-industry-fund-for-transition or you can call the state government’s Geelong office on (03) 5215 600.
If eligible, this could be a fantastic opportunity for your business and we would be happy to assist you with the application process. If you feel your business fits the criteria, please feel free to contact us so we can help.
2. Relief from payroll tax
The recent budget announcement included some relief for those required to pay Payroll Tax.
The previous threshold whereby businesses were required to pay payroll tax was $575,000 in total wages*. This threshold will be increased to $625,000 in total wages* from 1 July 2017 and $650,000 from 1 July 2018.
This is great news for small to medium businesses as it is estimated to benefit approximately 38,000 businesses across the state.
Businesses in regional Victoria (including Geelong) will receive a 25 per cent discount on their payroll tax. From July 1 2017 payroll tax will decrease from 4.65 per cent to 3.65 per cent for businesses with a workforce of at least 85 per cent employees in regional areas.
*total wages include many different payments outside of just salaries such as superannuation contributions, commissions, allowances and more.
For more information visit budget.vic.gov.au/budget-papers , sro.vic.gov.au/payroll-tax
3. It’s now easier to be considered a small business entity (SBE)
In the 2016-17 Budget, the Government announced an increase to the small business entity (SBE) turnover threshold from $2 million to $10 million.
This means that for the current financial year (from 1 July 2016), businesses with a turnover of less than $10 million will be categorised as an SBE which enables access a range of concessions which were recently only available to business entities with a turnover of less than $2 million.
For more information: https://www.ato.gov.au/General/New-legislation/In-detail/Direct-taxes/Income-tax-for-businesses/Increase-the-small-business-entity-turnover-threshold/
The above information is of general nature. Ray White Drysdale strongly recommends you contact your licenced Tax Agent or Accountant to discuss your own individual requirements.
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