MORE SUPPORT FOR BUSINESS A WELCOME MOVE
12 October 2021
The region’s peak business organisation, Business Illawarra, has welcomed the NSW Government’s announcement of further financial support for small businesses which continue to confront challenges as they re-open.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has announced a rebate for non-payroll tax paying businesses has been extended to $2,000 and can now include tolls, while businesses have now been provided a stock guarantee of $20,000 for perishable goods and $10,000 for non-perishable items should a lockdown occur in December or January 2022.
“Business confidence has taken a hit in recent times and we know one of the pressure points for business has been being left with stock they can’t sell while their business is closed,” said Business Illawarra Executive Director Adam Zarth.
“Businesses can now plan and order the stock they think they’ll need while they begin to scale up again, with the knowledge the Government has a level of protection in place for them,” Mr Zarth said.
“This confidence will be particularly welcome in the Illawarra, where lockdowns have had a dramatic impact on business prosperity – not only have they missed out on local trade but tourists from Sydney who stay and spend money.”
“Throughout the pandemic, the Government has worked closely with business on designing support packages that will help soften the blow of the restrictions on business, this is another example of support for business owners to regain their confidence.”
“A recent survey of almost 2,000 of our members revealed 53 per cent of business would be closed without the COVID-19 assistance program from Government, and 40 per cent of businesses reported that due to the COVID-19 assistance programs they will allow business to ‘snap back’.”
“Yesterday we saw so much optimism around business in the Illawarra now that we are officially ‘back to business’ and this is a further boost for business owners to plan the next few months of operations with further support measures in place,” Mr Zarth said.