Let me begin by saying I appreciate have very difficult it is for the government to deal with this unfolding mess.  There is simply not enough hours in the day to devise stimuluses, implement them and if doing so, consider all the nuances.

And as with any change, there are many unintended consequences.

The JobKeeper incentive was a terrific initiative to keep people employed.

However, there are many unresolved questions.  Even after the release of a second Treasury fact sheet.

The JobKeeper incentive relies on two key sources of information:-

• Reported payroll numbers. This will undoubtedly be through Single Touch Payroll but extra reporting is required.

• Demonstrating to the ATO that turnover has fallen by 30% or more.  It appears that the reporting mechanism will be through the BAS (which is quarterly for most people).

10 of the biggest unresolved aspects are:-

1. Whilst the back end of March has been terrible from many businesses, the first few weeks were okay.  This means that many businesses will not qualify for the month of March which is when the program commences.  So if they do qualify in April, they won’t receive anything until the June BAS is lodged?

2. Most businesses report GST on a cash basis.  Cash is received after a sale is made.  If their sales have fallen, then the BAS won’t reflect that.

3. The ATO though can exercise its discretion (never favourably it seems).  They might require such simple things as sales data – or more.  They could be quite intrusive.  It will cost time and money providing this information.  It will undoubtedly cause delays.  It will be some time before they pay out.

4. It should be noted that companies report gross income when they pay PAYG Instalments.  But not all company must make profits.  Moreover, trusts and partnerships do not report income – so they will have to provide additional information.

5. It is unclear whether businesses that are part of a group are assessed in their own name or as part of that group.

6. How about a service trust?  Are they assessed as part of a group with the actual business or assessed in their own right?

7. Will there be integrity rules?  If so, will they disqualify more than half of all small businesses as did the PAYG WH concessions?

8. It appears that you have to satisfy the 30% reduction in income from the year before on a month by month basis.  But what about those businesses which were affected by seasonal factors and 2019?

9. The initial fact sheet indicated that a sole trader that employs would miss out.  How is that fair?  You reckon that would have been fixed by the second fact sheet but it hasn’t.

10. It is already been made clear that SG super need only be paid on the employees ordinarily wage – so if their normal wage is $1,000, super need only be paid on that amount; not on the $1,500 received.  But neither WorkCover nor the State Revenue Office (Pay-roll Tax) has stated whether they will levy on the actual wage or the boosted amount.

There are many more unanswered questions anomalies and unfair outcomes.  Hopefully all of these are resolved before Wednesday – that is when Parliament has been recalled to sit and pass this legislation.

We will keep you posted so please return is webpage for more updates and other blogs.

In the meantime, we are happy to answer any question you may have.