Live: Tax office boss concedes consultation failures on credit card ban
The 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.
Meanwhile, households are bracing for the fifth interest rate rise this year, with pressure mounting on the federal government to find solutions.
Follow all the updates in our live blog.
Hume claims government has 'no idea' about small business
By Holly Tregenza
By Holly Tregenza
Liberal senator Jane Hume stopped for a quick chat with friend of the blog Nicole Asher outside the doors of the senate this morning.
She says the evidence from the ATO in Estimates last night was "telling".
"[They said] they may have bungled that credit card surcharge ban... and they absolutely did," she says.
"It's a demonstrated understanding that it's not just our agencies, it's also our government who does not understand what small businesses are going through".
Hume says the ball is now in the government's court to find a solution.
ATO would do it differently if it had its time again
By Lexie Jeuniewic
By Lexie Jeuniewic
Under questioning from Shadow Small Business Minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, ATO commissioner Rob Heferen conceded the tax office would handle the rollout differently if given another chance, saying it should have had a "more open conversation" with businesses from the outset.
"To essentially share the problem we faced, rather than coming with a, 'This is what we're going to do and here's a transition period,'" he told Senate Estimates.
ATO boss grilled on controversial credit card ban
By Lexie Jeuniewic
By Lexie Jeuniewic
The Australian Taxation Office boss has conceded the agency could've consulted small businesses better before announcing its controversial credit card ban.
Commissioner of taxation Rob Heferen told Senate estimates last night he realised the Reserve Bank's surcharge ban would be a "real issue" for the ATO after receiving a letter from Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino about the RBA's reforms on April 28 this year.
"That brought it to a sharp head," Heferen said.
The commissioner said two options were subsequently formulated by the tax office: continue accepting credit card payments and request government funding or ban credit cards and map out an appropriate transition for those impacted.
He said he first had a discussion with Mulino about the matter on July 20, and a series of meetings followed.
Heferen said that on September 25, based on advice from his senior executive, he personally arrived at the decision to propose the credit card ban, and small businesses were informed on September 30 — a day before it was made public.
Good morning 👋
By Holly Tregenza
By Holly Tregenza
And welcome back to the live blog, coming to you bright and early from Parliament House in Canberra.
My name is Holly Tregenza, and I'll be stepping in for Courtney Gould and Josh Boscaini today to take you through all the moments that matter.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.