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City of Maribyrnong - Business Bulletin - May 2022 |
To our Maribyrnong Business Community, This month's edition is filled with lots of news, information and grants to help our business community. Learn how you can apply for funding to ventilate your business and funding to purchase solar panels for your business. To celebrate all that main streets and shopping strips provide the community, businesses are invited to run or host an event to help celebrate Main Streets of Australia Week. Learn how your business can get involved below. As the end of financial year is fast approaching, we share information from the ATO to help you prepare for lodging your tax. Council is giving you the opportunity to join their heritage journey and have your say about what is worth valuing and protecting in Maribyrnong. This can include buildings with businesses which you feel have heritage significance and should be protected. Our Love Your Local Website is buzzing with activity and lots of fabulous things to do in our City over winter. Check out the stories on Love Your Local below We hope you enjoy the May edition of our newsletter. Best Wishes Economic Development Team, Maribyrnong City Council |
| Love Your Local - Mari |
 The 'Love Your Local - Mari' campaign was initially launched in 2020 as a way of supporting businesses coming out of lock-down. The campaign is still continuing and a new series of business profiles stories from across our city has just commenced being released. These stories give a great insight into the people behind some of our favourite local businesses. Check out the 'Meet the Locals' section of the Love Your Local website or keep an eye out on the Council Facebook page as new stories are released each week. Visit the Love Your Local Mari website. |
| Solar for Business Program | |
The Solar for Business Program supports Victorian businesses to reduce their operating costs by enabling them to access the benefits of renewable energy. This initiative reduces energy bills for businesses by offering rebates to support the installation of an approved small-scale solar PV system. Rebates cover up to 50 per cent of the cost of a rooftop solar system with businesses eligible for a maximum rebate of $3,500 to reduce the upfront cost of installing solar on their business premises. Solar for business rebates will remain at $3,500 until all 5,000 forecasted rebates for 2020–21 have been fully allocated and will be up to $1,750 thereafter. |
| Looking After Our Unique Heritage | |
The story of the City of Maribyrnong is found in its people and places. It’s a rich story of diversity, shaped by our First Nations Peoples, European settlers and successive waves of immigration. It’s been a hub of industry, a place of natural beauty and a home for a vibrant community with cultures, traditions and history that continue to attract interest locally and internationally. Council plays an important role in identifying, conserving and promoting our City’s heritage assets. We want to ensure they are valued, understood and protected for future generations. Community feedback will not only help identify any opportunities missed in the 2002 Heritage Plan but will also help create a new heritage vision for our City. We are collaborating with Footscray Historical Society and Working Heritage to run free community heritage events in May. Visit yourcityyourvoice.com.au/heritage to find out more and to get involved. |
| Celebrate our Main Streets and Town Centres | |
Main Streets of Australia
Week (16 to 22 May) is a new national campaign to recognise and celebrate the
contribution that main streets and town centres make to the community. All streets and town centres can run an event or
campaign, no matter their size or budget. |
| FBT Lodgment Date is Fast Approaching | |
Do you prepare your own fringe benefits tax (FBT) return? If so, you need to lodge your return and pay any FBT liability you owe by 23 May 2022. If you:
Lodging via a tax agent? You will need to appoint them by 21 May. |
| Claim Purchased COVID Tests at Tax Time | |
Did you know COVID-19 tests purchased for Work Purposes are tax deductible? From 1 July, if you're an employee, sole-trader or contractor and you purchase a COVID-19 test for work related purposes, you can claim a deduction, as long as you: · Use the test for a work-related purpose · Get a qualifying COVID-19 test, such as a PCR test or RAT kits · Pay for the test yourself · Keep your receipt to prove that you incurred the cost. |
| Small Business Ventilation Program | |
The $60 million Small Business Ventilation Program will help eligible public-facing small businesses to improve building ventilation in areas accessible to customers and reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. Improving ventilation helps reduce the spread of COVID-19 and provides customers with the confidence that businesses are doing everything they can to keep them safe. Under the program, two types of support will be available:
A business can apply for both a Ventilation Rebate and a Ventilation Grant. The submitted applications can request funds for the same ventilation project, however the funds must not be allocated to the same eligible expenditure item. |
| Mindarma - Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Perspectives - FREE Webinar | |
Business Victoria, in
partnership with Mindarma, is hosting ‘Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
Perspectives - Small Business Wellbeing’, a special webinar
for small business owners and their employees. This FREE one hour webinar will be held on Monday 23 May from 9.50am will focus on the wellbeing of
business owners and employees. An expert panel will share their unique
experiences and discuss available supports. |
Useful Business Links |
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