The Federal Government has announced a $17.6 billion economic stimulus package .
Key points:
* The Government will pump $11 billion into the economy between now and July
* Welfare recipients will get $750, and there will be tax breaks for small businesses
* The Government concedes it will not deliver its forecast surplus for this financial year
More than 6 million welfare recipients, including pensioners, carers, veterans, families, young people and jobseekers will get a one-off cash payment of $750 from March 31. The one-off payments will cost the Government $4.8 billion.
Mr Morrison also said casual workers who contracted COVID-19, or had to isolate themselves, would be eligible for a Newstart welfare payment while out of work. The typical wait time to access the payment will be waived, but people will face an assets test before receiving the money.
Nearly 700,000 small and medium businesses will receive cash payments of between $2,000 and $25,000 to help pay wages or hire extra staff. The measure is the largest part of the package, and is estimated to cost $6.7 billion.
Medium and big businesses will be encouraged to spend on equipment and other investments through an extension of the instant asset write-off, which means they can claim a tax break for what they spend. This is currently restricted to companies with turnovers of up to $50 million, for maximum investments of $30,000. But this will be significantly lifted, allowing companies with turnovers of up to $500 million to make assets write-offs of up to $150,000.
The stimulus package also includes $1.3 billion in support payments to keep apprentices in their jobs amid fears the spread of the coronavirus could have a crippling effect on employment.
The stimulus package also includes a $1 billion fund to help the tourism sector.
The Government yesterday allocated $2.4 billion for a health package, including 100 pop-up coronavirus fever clinics and a new Medicare item to deliver health advice remotely.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has now confirmed that there is "obviously not going to be a surplus year in 2019-20". Prime Minister Scott Morrison now says the full extent of the deficit will be revealed in May's federal budget. "The way we've designed this stimulus is to ensure that it doesn't have a fiscal hangover down the track, that it doesn't bury the budget for a decade."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-12/federal-government-coronavirus-economic-stimulus/12042972