Update Thursday, 16 April 2020
On 8 April 2020, the Federal Government passed a package of Bills through both Houses of Parliament (which received Royal Assent on 9 April 2020) to give effect to (amongst other things) the JobKeeper Scheme. Subsequent to this, a Legislative Instrument was released by the Treasurer containing the detailed rules of the JobKeeper Payment.
Refer to the;
Coronavirus Economic Response Package Payments and Benefits) Act 2020
Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus (Measures No. 2) Act 2020
Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Rules 2020 (being the Legislative Instrument released by the Treasurer).
Following is a broad summary of the 10 key aspects of the JobKeeper Payment, based on the above package of Bills, the Treasurer’s Legislative Instrument and updated information currently available on the Treasury website (refer to https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/jobkeeper).
Here are the Top 10 Questions of the JobKeeper Payment including;
Do businesses have to meet the decline in turnover test on an ongoing basis?
What if a business’s turnover has not decreased (e.g., by 30%) but it is predicted to do so in the coming month?
Are employers required to continue to pay employees to qualify for the JobKeeper Payment?
If employees have been stood down after 1 March 2020 does an employer need to pay them?
Can employers select which of their eligible employees are covered by the JobKeeper Scheme?
Are the JobKeeper Payments from the ATO assessable income to the business?
Are employers required to deduct PAYG withholding from the amounts paid to employees?
Are employers subject to Superannuation Guarantee (‘SG’) in relation to any extra JobKeeper Payments?
Can businesses get the JobKeeper Payment in respect of workers who are engaged through a labour hire firm?
Can a sole trader who has employees also qualify for the JobKeeper Payment?
For more click on the link below.
Source and credit: National Tax & Accountants’ Association Ltd.
Please note: we will be contacting our clients directly on what the next steps are in this process relative to the service that they require.
To enrol and apply for the JobKeeper payment, you follow the steps below.
Visit www.ato.gov.au/jobkeeper
On this page there are hyperlinks for all of the following:
Enrol for the JobKeeper payment (from 20 April onwards)
You or one of our team can enrol for the JobKeeper payment:
Step 1 – Register your interest and subscribe for JobKeeper payment updates.
Step 2 – Check you and your employees meet the eligibility requirements.
Step 3 – Continue to pay at least $1,500 to each eligible employee per JobKeeper fortnight (the first JobKeeper fortnight is the period from 30 March to 12 April).
Step 4 – Notify your eligible employees that you are intending to claim the JobKeeper payment on their behalf and check they aren’t claiming JobKeeper payment through another employer or have nominated through another business.
Step 5 – Send the JobKeeper employee nomination notice to your nominated employees to complete and return to you by the end of April if you plan to claim JobKeeper payment for April. Keep it on file and provide a copy to your registered tax agent if you are using one.
Step 6 – From 20 April 2020, you can enrol with us for the JobKeeper payment using the Business Portal and authenticate with myGovID. You must do this by the end of April to claim JobKeeper payments for April.
Step 7 – In the online form, provide your bank details and indicate if you are claiming an entitlement based on business participation, for example if you are a sole trader.
Step 8 – Specify the estimated number of employees who will be eligible for the first JobKeeper fortnight (30 March – 12 April) and the second JobKeeper fortnight (13 April – 26 April).
Confirmation of eligible employees you will claim JobKeeper Payment for (available from 4 May 2020 onwards).
If you use the ATO Business Portal, you will need a myGovID linked to your ABN in relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM). You can find out how to set this up at ato.gov.au/mygovid.
What do you need to do for your employees
You need to identify which employees you intend to claim the JobKeeper payment for and tell them you intend to claim the JobKeeper payment for them.
You need to provide these employees with the JobKeeper employee nomination notice and ask them to return it to you by the end of April if you want to claim JobKeeper payment for April.
If your employees have multiple employers, they can usually choose which employer they want to nominate through. However, if your employees are long-term casuals and have other permanent employment, they cannot nominate you. They cannot receive the JobKeeper payment from more than one employer.
If an employee is currently receiving an income support payment, they must notify Services Australia External Link of their new income to avoid incurring a debt that they will have to repay.
Find out about:
Source and credit: ATO.gov.au