Penny wise, pound foolish?
Having watched with dismay the efforts of Centrelink to pursue supposed tax debts based on matching social security and Australian Taxation Office (ATO) data, Outsider was not at all surprised when a reader sent him an ATO dealing with the gigantic sum of, you guessed it, one cent.
Yes, that is one cent — or as the ATO letter puts it $0.01.
The letter informed the young woman, a member of the Sunsuper superannuation fund, that "on 14 October 2016 we transferred contributions of $0.01 to your account managed by the TRUSTEE OF SUNSUPER SUPERANNUATION FUND".
The letter goes on to say: "These are quarterly superannuation contributions your employer makes on your behalf to a complying super fund or retirement savings account; and failing that, to the Tax Office".
Given that the superannuation guarantee current stands at 9.25 per cent, Outsider has been left wondering precisely how the $0.01 amount was arrived at. He is further left wondering how the ATO justifies spending $1 of hard-earned tax-payer money on a letter involving one cent.
Then again, as Outsider's old granny used to say "look after the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves".
AUTHOR
The Outsider
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