Financial support to move to traffic light system

The Minister of Finance, the Hon Grant Robertson, has announced that a new transition payment will be made available particularly for affected businesses in Auckland, Waikato and Northland to acknowledge the restrictions they have faced under the higher Alert Levels. The Minister stated that:

• a transition payment of up to $24,000 will be available as businesses move into the traffic light system

• the leave support scheme and short term absence payment will be available under the new framework

• further targeted support will be considered once the framework beds in, and

• the resurgence support payment (RSP) will be adjusted to support recently acquired businesses.

Transition payment

The one-off transition payment will be activated through the RSP system criteria and will be available to eligible businesses on 10 December. The transition payment will be available through the RSP system in myIR and has the same eligibility criteria.

The payment is at a higher base rate than the current RSP and will be $4,000 per business plus $400 per FTE up to a cap of 50 FTEs — a maximum payment of $24,000.

The affected revenue period for the Transition Payment will be set between 3 October and 9 November and must be compared to a typical week in the 6 weeks prior to 17 August 2021.

Resurgence Support Payment available to more businesses

From 10 December 2021, businesses that changed ownership on or after 18 July may be able to get the RSPs made from 29 October. To get an RSP in this situation, the business:

• needs to meet the RSP criteria

• must have been operating for at least 1 month before 17 August 2021, and

• must be carrying on the same or similar activity as before the change in ownership.

Source: Financial support to move to traffic light system, Beehive Govt website.