This week, news came of a number of large organisations paying back JobKeeper payments, after recording large profits.
Super Retail Group (owner and operator of a number of retail brands including SuperCheap Auto, BCF and Rebel Sport) announced on Monday that it will return $1.7 million of JobKeeper subsidies to the federal government. SRG revealed a net profit after tax of $170million for the second half of 2020, including an 87% increase in online sales.
Last Tuesday, Toyota announced it would return $18 million in JobKeeper subsidies.
These decisions have been commended by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. “What that says is that people know when they need it and the appreciate it when they need it, but they don’t want to take advantage of it”, stated Morrison.
“We can’t run the Australian economy on government money forever. We’ve had to step in at a very serious time and we’ve done that, but now we’ve got the hard job of getting the Australian economy back on its own feet,” he said.
So, what if you have found yourself in a similar situation where you feel your JobKeeper payments are no longer required, or your business has boomed in this time of uncertainty?
Our advice in this situation, is to contact the ATO, and remember that any decision to voluntarily repay previous JobKeeper repayments is up to the individual, eligible business.