JobKeeper scheme fails the taxpayer & delivers more auto industry welfare

Several automotive companies in Australia swallowed millions in JobKeeper corporate welfare in 2020, despite returning multi-million-dollar profits in the same year. More taxpayer-funded welfare for the automotive industry, and a major regulatory failure by the Morrison Government. Help support my independent reporting on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=54778969​  Podcast (audio-only version, for listening in the car, etc.): https://anchor.fm/autoexpert​  Save thousands on any new car (Australia-only): https://autoexpert.com.au/contact​  AutoExpert discount roadside assistance package: https://247roadservices.com.au/autoex...​  Did you like this report? You can help support the channel, securely via PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr... Mercedes-Benz managed to Hoover up almost $5 million in JobKeeper corporate welfare payments between April and September last year. But COVID, frankly, was not a major hurdle for Mercedes: The company made $62.7 million in profit last year here in ‘Straya. And yet, it has no plans to give the JobKeeper funds back. To qualify for JobKeeper, businesses like Mercedes with more than $1 billion in turnover had to estimate that their turnover would fall by 50 per cent or more. It’s unclear exactly how Mercedes qualified for this support. Not that I can find. Mercedes sold 38,684 vehicles in ‘Straya in 2019. In 2020, during the height of COVID, its sales were 36,233 vehicles. That’s hardly a turnover collapse. ​Moving on now, to Ford: Ford needed to upgrade its vacuum cleaner to Hoover up $38 million in JobKeeper it received last year. Ford Australia posted a $59 million profit, which it described as a (quote) “solid result” in its 2020 financial reporting. Eagers Automotive made $156 million profit last year, $133 million of that was JobKeeper. Toyota announced in January that it would repay the $18 million it received in JobKeeper.