Unclaimed money.

It would be interesting to know how much unclaimed money the state and Federal government quietly pockets each financial year - and it would certainly be a motza.

How many times does a citizen have a bet on the TAB, shove the docket in a pocket - and some time later that docket goes unclaimed through the washing machine ?

How many people subscribe to Lotto or the Jackpot lottery without ticket registration - and don't get around to checking the results ?

These are certainly cases of carelessness on our part, but there is also a carefully orchestrated scenario where governments deliberately avoid giving us our rightful dues.

For instance - some share dividends are " franked " - meaning the company involved has paid tax and therefore they are tax free to the receiver. The computers at the tax office know precisely who is entitled to this money, but they remain silent unless a claim is lodged - and some people forget to claim back money to which they are entitled.

Then there is the " safety net " associated with health benefits. Where an individual or a family reaches a certain purchase amount the safety net kicks in and further prescriptions are free for the balance of that calendar year.

The only problem is that the individual has to lodge a claim, despite this information being tallied on the Health department's computers. If the customer shops at a single pharmacy the chemist may keep track of purchases, but if the customer shops at various places - the government pockets money for scripts that should be free.

The only consolation is that if this source of funding suddenly ceased because the governments of both the Commonwealth and the states had a change of heart and decided to be " fair " - then income tax would have to be hiked to make up the shortfall.

A case where the status-quo is less painful !