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Following the passage of the JobKeeper 2.0 legislation on Tuesday, Fair Work has now released information around the extension of the temporary Fair Work Act JobKeeper provisions for a further six months to 28 March 2021.
Legacy employers, who no longer qualify for JobKeeper 2.0 because they are unable to meet the requisite decline in turnover test, will still be allowed to access these temporary provisions if they are able to prove a 10 per cent decline in turnover for the previous quarter.
To continue being able to give JobKeeper enabling directions, employers will need to acquire a 10 per cent decline in turnover certificate from either a registered tax agent, a BAS agent or a qualified accountant.
Small businesses with fewer than 15 employees will be allowed to provide a statutory declaration instead of obtaining the decline in turnover certificate.
Institute of Certified Bookkeepers executive director Matthew Addison said BAS agents issuing the decline in turnover certificates should ensure they take reasonable care in the way they do with current BAS preparation work.
He also noted that there were penalties for employers who provide false or misleading information to tax agents, BAS agents or qualified accountants, including a maximum civil penalty of 60 penalty units for individuals or 300 penalty units for a corporate entity.
“Given what [the government] is trying to do which is not have a full audit, but an external set of eyes to look over it, I think having the penalty back on the business owner for making sure that all necessary information being handed over is true and correct is appropriate,” Mr Addison said.
“The business owner always has to be part of the process, but so is having the BAS agent who is already competently doing their BASs and monthly JobKeeper declaration, who will then be well able to work out what the GST turnover is and perform the calculation.”
Fair Work guidance on the JobKeeper extension can be accessed here.
Jotham Lian
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Jotham Lian is the editor of Accountants Daily, the leading source of breaking news, analysis and insight for Australian accounting professionals.
Before joining the team in 2017, Jotham wrote for a range of national mastheads including the Sydney Morning Herald, and Channel NewsAsia.
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