The Queensland Government will deliver an additional $249 million from existing funding in COVID-19 related tax relief to small and medium businesses across the state.
Queensland Minister for Infrastructure and Planning and Treasurer Cameron Dick explains that these measures will help protect small and medium Queensland businesses that continue to bear the brunt of COVID impacts.
“For some workers and businesses, conditions have improved since March,” he says.
“Through the success of our strong measures to protect the health of Queenslanders, we have been able open up more of our economy.
“But we know that thousands of Queensland businesses, particularly in exposed industries, are still doing it very tough.
“That’s why I am announcing a range of measures to further ease the tax burden on these companies.”
The measures include a two-month waiver for of payroll tax for July and August 2020 for businesses with annual Australian taxable wages up to $6.5 million; continuing to exempt JobKeeper subsidy payments from payroll tax; allowing businesses to pay off existing payroll tax deferred liabilities over the course of 2021; and for businesses renting State Government premises and incurring a demonstrable COVID impact, extending existing rent relief to the end of this December.
This package is in addition to the substantial tax relief previously announced by the Queensland Government to support businesses through COVID-19, including payroll and land tax relief and a tax exemption for JobKeeper payments.
The Queensland Government will work with regional councils to help them refinance their existing debt on more favourable terms.
“A number of councils have fixed interest loans with rates as high as 8.82 per cent,” Dick says.
“With Queensland Treasury Corporation’s 20-year loan rate currently at 1.92 per cent, refinancing could release as much as $280 million, equivalent to 5 per cent of total council operating expenditure across the state.
“We expect councils to use this funding for job-creating capital works programs, across Queensland.”