Retailers and restaurateurs can breathe a sigh of relief with official notice of payroll tax relief being extended under the new Government to the end of the fiscal year, March 31.To qualify for the relief, restaurants must fill out an application form from the Office of the Tax Commission and be current with respect to payroll taxes.Once approved, they are allowed to pay the employee portion of payroll tax rate at a reduced rate of 4.75 percent at the quarter end.Meanwhile, retailers are advised they have been provided the relief rate of zero percent for the period October through March 31, 2012 with an extension for the fiscal year April 2012 through March 31, 2013.Retailers must still file a complete payroll tax return, though without payment, for each quarter on or before the quarterly payroll tax deadline.A spokesperson for the Tax Commission Office said the payroll tax relief extension notices in the newspaper on Friday were routine, as March 31 was the Government’s fiscal year-end.“It will be determined in the 2013/14 Budget if these reliefs are extended,” the spokesperson said.The Chamber of Commerce said the Tax Office had told them a number of retailers and restaurants had been expressing concerns the payroll tax relied ended December 31. The notices, however, confirm the extension.The former PLP Government had extended payroll tax relief for restaurants, hotels and retailers last year.It estimated in a pre-Budget report that the relief was costing Government some $20 million in annual revenue.