Our philosophy: Be kind, be resourceful, be resilient. Lets all help each other...

As your aware, the world is changing quickly, and we didn’t think it would change as quickly as it has.

We are now working from home, and are here to support you through these difficult times. Our phone & email systems will still work as normal, so please email or call us if you have any queries or need help – below are our contact details:

Prue Anderson  –  Ph 027 5055 618  –  prue@prueanderson.co.nz

Maria Forlong  –  Ph 027 3812 810  –  maria@prueanderson.co.nz

Sandy Sloan      –  Ph 027 3810 991  –  sandy@prueanderson.co.nz

Kaley Wainhouse  –  Ph 027 3810 102  –  kaley@prueanderson.co.nz

We are coping with a lot of queries at the moment, so please don’t panic. If you can’t get through immediately, leave us a message & we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

Thank you to those who have contacted us with queries, and a big thank you for being patient when you’ve had to wait for a response from us.

 

 

 

Advice & Useful links for information:

If you know your business is, or will be, facing disruption as a result of COVID-19, be concerned for your people, be aware of your contractual & financial issues, and review your insurance cover:

We’ve listed some practical steps we advise you to take:

  • Review your financial position (we can help with this if you need to forecast or compare periods);
  • Contact your bank to determine what sort of assistance they are prepared to provide;
  • Contact your landlord to ascertain whether they will provide some relief;
  • Contact other creditors (Hire Purchase/leasing companies/finance companies) to discuss your options;
  • Review your insurance policies concerning loss of profits & business disruption insurance;
  • Review your employment contracts to ascertain your obligations to your employees – remembering that all discussions with employees need to be held in ‘good faith’;
  • Discuss employment options for & with your staff.  Is there work available for them in the logistics/distribution centre in the short term?;
  • Work on ‘working from home options’ for your employees if it’s practical for your staff to work from home;
  • Seek legal advice for protocols for working from home;
  • Consider alternative ways of working eg can you offer online solutions;
  • If you fit the criteria, (30% or more reduction in income compared with same month last year), apply for wage subsidies.  Remember that you must pay your staff at least 80% of their regular wage in order to qualify for the subsidy:  https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/documents/eligibility/emergencies/covid-19/wage-subsidy-and-leave-payment-employer-support-factsheet.pdf
  • Follow the government guidelines relating to the virus, and prepare for the next level of Alert.

Resources:

The website which covers all bases is the https://covid19.govt.nz/ .  You can access other useful information via this website.

Other useful links:

If you need Payroll support & you pay your staff via SmartPayroll, they are available via email customerservices@smartpayroll.co.nz, or by phone 0800 10 10 38.  Alternatively, call us;

Whanganui & Partners is offering COVID-19 support; visit their website https://www.whanganuiandpartners.nz/

Workplace response to coronavirus (COVID-19)
https://www.employment.govt.nz/about/news-and-updates/workplace-response-coronavirus-covid-19/#financial

Employer Support – Wage subsidy and Leave Payment
https://workandincome.govt.nz/products/a-z-benefits/covid-19-support.html    (the wage subsidy cap has been removed from $150k cap per business to no cap)

Employer COVID-19 wage subsidy and leave payment information sheet
https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/documents/eligibility/emergencies/covid-19/wage-subsidy-and-leave-payment-employer-support-factsheet.pdf

To apply for leave payments for those staff in self-isolation, (everyone except staff who can work from home, and for those working in essential services).

Employers use this application form:  https://services.workandincome.govt.nz/ess/employer_applications/new

Self-employed (no employees) use this application form:

https://services.workandincome.govt.nz/ess/trader_applications/new

Our advice is that you apply immediately. 

Treadwell Gordon Article – Coronavirus & the workplace
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/wanganui-chronicle/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503422&objectid=12317654

Creative New Zealand – Artists
https://www.creativenz.govt.nz/news/creative-new-zealand-establishes-multi-million-dollar-covid-19-response

Guidelines for the hospitality industry

https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/pages/guidelines-hospitality-establishments-physical-distancing-gathering-size-limits-20mar20.pdf

 

 

 

Subsidies, PAYE, Taxes & GST

Currently we’re in a fluid situation with many questions still unanswered.  In the absence of clear guidance from government, we’re making some pragmatic and, we believe, defensible calls.  We anticipate that the IRD will also be pragmatic when they begin to review the payments made to employers, and the self-employed when we emerge from the lockdown & get back to ‘normality’.

We’ve been asked about the tax treatment of the subsidies.  The following is the tax & GST treatment we’ve gleaned from the IRD website:

Wage and leave subsidies: income tax, GST, PAYE and employer obligations

Wage subsidies and self-isolation leave subsidies are both paid by the Ministry of Social Development.  They should be passed on to the employee by the employer and processed as part of the employee’s normal wages. All deductions of PAYE, Kiwisaver, Student Loans, child support etc are made as normal.

If the total wage (subsidy + employer funded pay) amounts to the same wages as previously, the pay and deductions on their payslip should be the same. Whether employers top up the subsidy with cash payments or annual leave is up to them to arrange with staff.

The employer will not be liable for income tax or GST on the subsidy received from MSD and will not be entitled to an income tax deduction for wages paid out of the wage subsidy.

Summary

Wage & Leave Subsidy:

Employers:

  • Not subject to GST
  • The subsidy received by the employer is not taxable income (code to wages expense code)
  • The subsidy paid to the employee is not deductible to the employer (code to wages expense)

The effect of the subsidy is that the employer is a conduit, receiving the subsidy & passing it on to the employee.  It has no effect on the employer’s income nor expenses

  • The subsidy is taxable for the employee. It is included as part of their normal wages, and subject to PAYE, Student Loan, Kiwisaver deductions etc

Sole Traders:

  • No GST on the subsidy
  • Is subject to income tax just as it is to an ‘employee’
  • If you are a sole trader, and you’ve applied for the wage subsidy or Covid19 leave, call us, and we’ll add an extra code in Xero to record the receipt;

Remember that a leave subsidy must be paid in full to the employee (& may be topped up by annual leave if the employee agrees to use their annual leave)

Mortgage Holidays

  • Banks have agreed to provide a 6-month mortgage repayment holiday scheme for people whose incomes are affected by Covid-19. The exact criteria associated with the mortgage holidays will be announced within the next few days.

Business Finance Guarantee Scheme

  • The government has agreed to underwrite loans for small & medium sized businesses with annual turnovers between $250,000 and $80 million. The loans will be limited to $500,000 per loan, and have a maximum term of 3 years.  More details will be announced within the next few days.  Please talk to us before applying for a loan.

Opportunities

  • We’re in lockdown. Use this time to do some work ‘on’ your business.  Think about the future.  Think about your marketing, your products & services, budgeting, website, set up processes.  Where do you want to be in 12 months time, in 5 years time?  Fill in the gaps.  Think about new skills you could learn.  This can be a really productive time for us all.  We’ve attached a simple Goals sheet for you. Many of you have seen it before. Write down your goals.  We look forward to discussing the business ones with you when we emerge from our cocoons!

Do I still have to make tax payments: GST, PAYE & provisional tax while we’re in lock-down:

The answer is Yes, tax payments still need to be made.  However, if you’re not able to pay on time, let us know, and we’ll make an arrangement with the IRD for you.  The IRD has been given discretion not to charge interest on underpayments of tax for taxpayers unable to pay tax on time due to the outbreak.  Click on the link for more details:

https://www.ird.govt.nz/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/tax-relief/tax-relief-for-businesses

Take care & stay well. 

Prue, Maria, Sandy & Kaley.

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