$3BN Support Package for Victorian Businesses Announced

September 20, 2020

On Sunday 13 September 2020, the Victorian Government announced a new support package delivering $3 billion in “cash grants, tax relief and cashflow support delivered to Victorian businesses.”

There are almost no details on the package as yet – just the announcement. We will bring you more as soon as they are released. And, some of the $3 billion appears to be in the form of deferrals (not waivers) and includes past initiatives.

Here is what we know so far:

Grants

Cash grants for SMEs “most affected by coronavirus restrictions”

$822 million for a third round of Business Support Fund Grants of $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000 to businesses with payrolls of up to $10 million (depending on size). No details are available as yet and it is unclear what the eligibility criteria will be to meet the description of “most affected by coronavirus restrictions”.

Creation of a Licenced Venue Fund

Grants of between $10,000 and $30,000 for licenced venues. And, liquor license fees for 2021 will be waived. Once again, the details on these initiatives are unclear.

Support for Alpine resorts

Grants of up to $20,000 to help businesses cover their resort fees.

Payroll tax

Payroll tax will be deferred (not waived) for businesses with payrolls up to $10 million for the full 2020-21 financial year. Originally the deferral applied to the first half of 2020-21.

Businesses with payrolls of $10m or over can defer payroll tax for the first quarter of 2020-21 under previously announced initiatives.

Fees and charges

The 50% stamp duty discount for commercial and industrial property across all of regional Victoria brought forward to 1 January 2021 and the Vacant Residential Land Tax waived for properties that are vacant in 2020.

General

Grants of up to $20,000 for chambers of commerce to support members. Plus, funding for a return post COVID-19 including $44 million for business workshops to assist with digital transformation and investment in products such as Shopify and Squareonline.

And, $8.5m in additional funding for the Click for Vic website promoting Victorian businesses.

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