Are they really profiting from JobKeeper?

There has been plenty in the media lately about companies deemed to have profited from JobKeeper.

And it’s easy talkback and tabloid fodder, not to mention great retail politics.

Here’s how it works:

1. Company gets $X million in JobKeeper payments.

2. Company makes $Y million in profit.

3. Cue outrage

And it seems logical, right.

If a company made $10 million in profit, but got, say, $5 million in JobKeeper payments, isn’t it logically true that half of the profit was funded by the taxpayer?

And shouldn’t it be paid back?

(And, if you’re a politician, shock jock or tabloid rabble-rouser, why would you bother thinking any more deeply on the topic?)

By the way, the answer to ‘Isn’t it logically inescapable that the…