Small Business Grant (SBG)
The Small Business Grant is New South Wales Government initiative, designed to encourage the nearly 650,000 small businesses in New South Wales that do not pay payroll tax to hire new employees and expand their business.
The grant amount is $2,000 payable per full time equivalent (FTE) position (pro rata for part time) one year after the creation of that position.
The SBG is for businesses that do not pay payroll tax. If you pay payroll tax, you can claim under the JAP, which is actually $6,000.
There can be a situation where a customer may have been eligible for the Small Business Grant however before the first anniversary of the commencement of the job, the customer becomes liable for payroll tax. This means the customer is no longer eligible for the Small Business Grant and may also not be eligible for the Jobs Action Plan rebate (JAP) because they did not register that new job for the JAP within the 90 days of commencement (as required by JAP revenue ruling JAP 001*).
In keeping with the policy intent of the Small Business Grant and JAP, we understand that Revenue NSW will accept applications for the JAP in situations as described above, provided the registered claimant had originally registered positions for the SBG and all other eligibility criteria for the Small Business Grant and JAP are met, for example an increase in FTE. The registered claimant will also have to register for payroll tax when they become liable or before the first anniversary of the new employee commencing.
An example of a customer no longer being eligible for the SBG
Mary started work with ABC Pty Ltd in August 2016. At that time ABC Pty Ltd was not liable to pay payroll tax. ABC Pty Ltd registered the new employee under the SBG scheme. In May 2017 ABC Pty Ltd became liable for payroll tax. The following month they registered and began paying payroll tax. In August 2017 ABC Pty Ltd’s claim for the SBG was rejected because they were now liable for payroll tax. ABC Pty Ltd’s FTE increased and they met all other eligibility criteria for the SBG and JAP. Their registration will be transferred to the JAP and they may be eligible for the JAP rebates.
If you think this scenario applies to you or are unsure if you can claim, please send us an email with an explanation of your situation or call us to talk to one of our experts.
The JAP (if you are paying payroll tax)
Mary started work with ABC Pty Ltd in August 2016. At that time ABC Pty Ltd was not liable to pay payroll tax. ABC Pty Ltd registered the new employee under the SBG scheme. In May 2017 ABC Pty Ltd became liable for payroll tax. The following month they registered and began paying payroll tax. In August 2017 ABC Pty Ltd’s claim for the SBG was rejected because they were now liable for payroll tax. ABC Pty Ltd’s FTE increased and they met all other eligibility criteria for the SBG and JAP. Their registration will be transferred to the JAP and they may be eligible for the JAP rebates .
If you think this scenario applies to you, please send an email with an explanation of your situation.
The JAP (if you are paying payroll tax)
The Jobs Action Plan is designed to assist in the creation of new jobs by establishing a payroll tax rebate scheme that gives employers an incentive to increase the number of full time equivalent employees for a period of 2 years.
Under the scheme, businesses in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas of NSW that increase the number of NSW full-time equivalent (NSW FTE) employees will receive a payroll tax rebate for employing each additional NSW employee in a new job. A rebate of $2,000 is payable if eligible employment is maintained for at least 1 year, and a further rebate of $4,000 is payable if eligible employment is maintained for at least 2 years.
A rebate is available in respect of new jobs created after 1 July 2011. Applications for the rebate will close on 30 September 2019 for new jobs created up to 30 June 2019.
Under section 20 of the Act, an employer must apply for registration of a new job for the purpose of receiving the rebate within 30 days after the relevant employment commenced but applications will be accepted up to 90 days after the commencement of the relevant employment. After this time, applications will only be accepted if there is a very good explanation (difficult).