Tax office admits it failed to consult on credit card ban

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 29 Oct, 22:57 · Archive

Australia's tax office has admitted it did not consult small businesses before banning credit card payments.

The Australian Taxation Office has admitted it bungled its plan to refuse credit card payments, conceding it failed to consult the business community before implementing the ban. The tax office wrongly assumed that small business owners paying tax bills by credit card were in financial distress and did not recognise that many use credit cards as a cash-flow management tool to take advantage of interest-free periods.

The ban was introduced in response to the Federal Government's ban on card payment surcharges. ATO Commissioner Rob Heferen told Senate Estimates this week that the tax office 'jumped to conclusions' about how the decision might affect small businesses. He said that with hindsight, the ATO would have had 'a more open conversation' with relevant stakeholders from the outset, which would have resulted in a different approach. Rather than announcing the decision and imposing a transition period, the ATO could have 'share the problem we faced' with the business sector and explored alternative options together.

The ban was set to take effect from December but business backlash forced the government to delay the move.

How it is being reported

• ATO admits it jumped to wrong conclusions over business and credit cardsSenate Estimates extracted several bureaucratic apologies, explanations and concessions this week, none more glaringly obvious than the Australian Taxation Office admitting it got it wrong in how it dealt with the business sector over its decision to refuse credit card payments. The ATO didn’t consult the business community at all before ruling that, in response […]Riotact · 29 Oct, 22:37
• Live: Tax office boss concedes consultation failures on credit card banThe head of the tax office says he would have consulted more closely with small businesses if he had his time again, conceding the ATO should have had a more open conversation before rolling out the credit card ban. Follow live.ABC Australian Capital Territory · 28 Oct, 20:29

In this story: Australian Taxation Office · Rob Heferen · Australia

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