We all knew it was blatantly obvious and the Australian Government have finally admitted it — "Stephanie" doesn't exist.
Earlier this week the Government gave small business tax relief examples on their website and suggested that an average musician living in the country — in this case, "Stephanie" — makes over $300,000 a year after tax deductions, which we also all know is way off the mark.
As reported by Fairfax, a spokeswoman for the Treasurer's Office confirmed that the case studies seen on the website: "are cameos, so there is no real Stephanie".
But it didn't stop there — unbelievably, the spokeswoman said that while the case studies are fictional, numbers used in the examples are based on reality.
"Treasury says the cameos are based on real tax data ... [it] is taken from taxpayers who reported on their tax return that they were 'Musicians and Entertainers'," she said.
"Whilst the stereotype of a musician is that they do not earn very much, it is evident from the data that those who 'primarily' identify as musicians and have taxable income from that activity earn amounts similar to those that appear on the website."
Neal Hunt, manager of Sydney indie-pop outfit Sticky Fingers called the case studies "a joke".
"Most developing original bands would be lucky to take home $50 each a night," Hunt said.
