The minister for finance, Katy Gallagher, told a Senate committee that debts issued through robotax letters were legitimate and those that paid will not be refunded.The minister for finance, Katy Gallagher, told a Senate committee that debts issued through robotax letters were legitimate and those that paid will not be refunded.
The boilerplate communication provided details on how to pay the amounts despite not containing any information about when or how the debts were accrued. The tax office went on to apologise for theJoan Rodrigues, 75, said she paid her debt of several hundred dollars after receiving the ATO letter because she was concerned it might have an impact on her family.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup “I thought they were going to harass me like they did to people involved in robodebt,” said Christine, referring to the flawed Centrelink compliance scheme. “The fact we have to prove them wrong is the most annoying part of it.”raise as much as $15.2bn
Canberra accountant Gail Freeman said the decision not to provide refunds rubs against the taxpayers’ charter which requires the ATO to treat taxpayers fairly.Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters“When people get a letter from the ATO, most go to jelly,” said Freeman. “To me, the ATO has failed the charter on several counts.
“They have chosen to pay a debt,” Gallagher said. “For those that came forward and paid a debt that was owed to the ATO, those debts have been extinguished.”“You are effectively penalising people who were intimidated by a confusing piece of communication into paying a debt,” McKim said.