Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) analysis has found JobKeeper payments worth $38 billion went to businesses that did not suffer sustained downturns below threshold levels. This was from a sample of $72 billion of JobKeeper spending examined by the PBO, meaning 53% of taxpayer subsidies were paid to firms that did not meet turnover thresholds.
Of particular note:
- $1.3 billion went to companies where turnover tripled during the quarter for which they claimed JobKeeper;
- a further $1.3 billion was paid to companies that doubled their quarterly turnover; and
- at least $19 billion went to companies that increased quarterly turnover while receiving the taxpayer support.
