Hotels call for JobKeeper extension until the end of the year
The hotel sector is calling on the Federal Government to extend its JobKeeper program until the end of the year in an effort to keep the struggling sector afloat.
The extension of the $1500 a fortnight payment to eligible staff is one of several measures put forward by the Australian Hotels Association to the government to aid the sector which has borne the brunt of the Covid-19 restrictions.
Hospitality workers make up around one in three of the 3.5 million workers currently signed up to JobKeeper, according o government figures.
“Even whilst shut down, the costs and debts for hotels continue to accumulate daily,” the AHA submission stated.
“The financial pain is far from over. Our members are struggling with uncertainty as to when and how they can commence trading and the ‘debt cliff’.”
The AHA wants Jobkeeper be extended to all hotel businesses until at least December 31, that businesses be allowed to claim a tax deduction for entertainment expenses and fringe benefits tax be waived for three years.
They have also called for a three year freeze on the twice-yearly CPI excise increase on beer and bottled spirits.
Sheridan Randall, 2nd June 2020
