Welcome to our April newsletter. Australia has been hit by devastating natural disasters including drought, fires and floods and is now faced with unprecedented
challenges following the global outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The importance of maintaining stability, minimising disruption and ensuring that cash keeps flowing effectively through economies cannot be understated. The AFS team are available to support you and have compiled easy to read summaries of the financial stimulus and support packages that are available to businesses and individuals. See our news page for the latest information at www.afsbendigo.com.au/news

Economic update

The health and economic impacts of the Coronavirus increased exponentially in March, as did the response of national governments and central banks. As part of a suite of emergency measures, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cut the official cash rate twice – first to 0.5% and then to 0.25% – as official rates in the US and Europe were cut to near zero.

It’s too soon to know if these emergency measures will stave off recession (technically two consecutive quarters of negative growth), but Australia was better placed than many countries heading into the crisis.

Click here to view the full update.

This edition covers the following updates:

• Supporting you through the economic impacts of Coronavirus
• Working from home because of Coronavirus? The new 80 cents per hour tax shortcut
• Insurance payouts: are they taxable?
• ATO scrutiny on car parking fringe benefits
• Switching to the MYOB client portal
• Debunking myths about tax deductions

We hope you enjoy this edition of the AFS Client Update. Should you wish to investigate any of these matters further, please contact our office on 03 5443 0344.

Click here to view the full update.