26 October 1999

$320 Million Certificate Initiative: More GST Help For Business

The first details of the $320 million direct assistance element of the GST Start-Up Assistance programme were announced today by the Chairman of The New Tax System Advisory Board, Chris Jordan.

Redeemable certificates will be made available for small and medium businesses and not-for-profit entities to exchange for appropriate goods, services and specifically integrated packages to assist in the implementation of the GST.

Examples include:

Advertisements will appear in national press this weekend calling for expressions of interest from suppliers to offer goods and services for volume discounts in exchange for the certificates. This will increase the value of the assistance. Security features will be included on the certificates.

The GST Start-Up Assistance Office will evaluate the expressions of interest. Further details on the value of the certificate will be announced shortly.

"The next step is for suppliers to respond to the expressions of interest—even if you’re a small supplier in a remote area. We are particularly interested in integrated packages that relate directly to the implementation of the GST," Mr Jordan said.

"Every recipient of a certificate will have the opportunity to access goods and services to help them get GST-ready—including rural and remote areas."

This initiative is in addition to the immediate tax write-offs available for small and medium sized businesses for expenditure on new plant or software for the purposes of implementing the GST.