News / Events

Following today's Cabinet Meeting Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced: 

• In the coming weeks case numbers are likely to increase dramatically, however public health measures like masks, gathering limits and vaccine passes, are reducing hospitalisation numbers compared to overseas data. 
• The Government expects to ease mandates once the peak of Omicron cases has passed (currently expected mid-late March), where those mandates are less likely to impact vulnerable people.

Minister of Finance Grant Robertson and Revenue Minister David Parker have announced Additional Financial Support for COVID-19 affected businesses including:

• NEW Covid Support Payment for businesses - $4000 plus $400 per full-time employee - capped at 50 FTE positions, or $24,000. To be eligible businesses will have to show a 40 percent drop in revenue over seven consecutive days during the six weeks prior to 15 February, when the government shifted to phase two 
• Extension to Small Business Cashflow Loans Scheme - businesses who have previously accessed the Small Business Cashflow Scheme are now eligible to access an additional $10,000. The Scheme will have a new repayment period of five years, with the first two years being interest free (Interest already accrued from borrowers accessing the scheme would also be cancelled for the first two years of the loan).
• Flexibility on Tax Repayment: Inland Revenue's ability to allow flexibility in tax payment dates and terms has been extended. Minister Parker said that any business struggling to pay either GST or provisional tax because of Covid-19 should access their myIR account to see if they could delay starting payments, or if any part of the tax could be written off.

These measures are in addition to previously announced Financial Support HERE

WATCH the full announcement HERE