Business hit with an additional stimulus compliance burden

Despite arguments to the contrary, the NSW government will now require businesses to reconfirm their decline in turnover every fortnight in order to remain eligible for JobSaver payments and the Micro Business Grant.

The join professional bodies have lobbied Service NSW and NSW Treasury to reduce the compliance burden associated with the new stimulus payments, but the NSW government has insisted the reconfirmation is a “non-negotiable, important integrity measure”.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Chartered Accountants ANZ, CPA Australia, Institute of Public Accountants, The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers and The Tax Institute confirmed they will continue to press the NSW government, knowing well that many accountants, tax and BAS agents lack the capacity to undertake fortnightly retests.

Given the NSW government’s refusal to budge on the requirement, the bodies’ current proposal includes simply worded declarations that business owners can make themselves where their business remains closed, or has partially opened but still suffers a 30 per cent decline in turnover.

“Our goal has been to achieve an outcome where our members are called in mainly to assist those clients whose fortunes have improved to an extent that their continued eligibility is line-ball,” the bodies said in a joint statement.

“Businesses which are no longer eligible should declare this so that payments are discontinued, consistent with the terms and conditions of the business support programs.”

Earlier this month, the NSW government announced an additional $3.9 billion in funding, including $1.5 billion from the Commonwealth, as part of its COVID-19 economic support package. The additional funding was mostly absorbed by the JobSaver program and to facilitate Micro Business Grants.