How JobKeeper cheats will get caught by ATO’s all-seeing eye
The Federal Government’s JobKeeper program has helped millions of employees so far, but those deliberately cheating the system are in for a nasty surprise.
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A worrying trend in Australia right now is the rising number of reports of workers and businesses rorting the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme.
This massive handout of government cash – paying $1500 a fortnight to workers in businesses that have suffered a COVID-19 turnover crunch – is now forecast to be paid to about 3.5 million people.
JobKeeper was always going to be a target for creative accounting and questionable interpretation among businesses and workers.
There’s been stories of business owners turning away trade to force their turnover lower to claim JobKeeper, or claiming the payment for family members who don’t actually work in the business.
Full-time workers who have lost no hours or pay are illegally claiming JobKeeper for a small part-time casual job they have on the side, while there have been reports of pensioners getting it because they work a few hours a week on a micro business.
This is worrying, not just for taxpayers who will have to pay back this huge new government debt along with their children.
I’m concerned that people seem to be grabbing this cash and not realising that they could be fined heavily or at least asked to pay the money back.
And if they’ve already spent the money, sharp financial pain awaits them.
It’s understandable that many people think they’ve paid taxes all their life so they deserve a little something extra, but that’s not how the Australian Taxation Office, Centrelink and other government agencies think.
These agencies are more interested in enforcing the rules, and don’t want to be seen as a soft touch that would open them up to more cheating down the track.
They are extremely busy right now trying to distribute billions of dollars quickly to ease COVID-19’s impact on the economy.
But that will eventually change, and rorters will get caught.
Many people don’t realise that almost all their income and dealings with government departments today are electronically tracked.
Nearly every employer reports wages and superannuation to the government every payday through the single touch payroll system that his come into force in the past couple of years.
And JobKeeper uses Tax File Numbers in the approvals process.
The ATO already uses sophisticated data matching technology to track tax cheats, and will rely on these same systems to claw back JobKeeper cash that shouldn’t have been paid.
The vast majority of recipients deserve their JobKeeper money and are welcoming it, and some may be incorrectly receiving it because of decisions made by a misguided employer rather than a deliberate attempt to break the rules.
But if you’re not 100 per cent certain that you’re legally entitled to JobKeeper cash, don’t spend all the money now. That way you’ve got financial back-up if you’re ordered to pay some back.
And if you are deliberately cheating the system, make sure you don’t have enemies. The ATO has asked people to report illegal or concerning JobKeeper behaviour to its tip-off line on 1800 060 062 or via an online form.
Originally published as How JobKeeper cheats will get caught by ATO’s all-seeing eye