The Australian Tax Office has found that as many as 16,000 deceased persons and 27,000 expatriate Australians have received stimulus payments, in a measure totalling $40 million.
The ATO estimate the cost of the payments to deceased persons is likely to exceed $14 million. So far, 15,934 payments made to deceased estates, with the figure expected to rise to 47,111.
The Government has also sent a total 7305 payments to Australians living overseas direct to their home, while a further 18,000 will receive the payments via their bank account.
Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull has lashed out at the news, claiming it demonstrates the “absurdity of this cash splash” and was an “incredible example of the reckless way” the Government was borrowing money and “spraying” it around.
People who read this, also liked:
Swan confident of stimulus boost to March quarter
800,000 stimulus payments still unclaimed