Debtors are now stumping up, but that doesn’t mean they are happy. Tax payment crackdown generates blowback, especially from small business.
The Australian Taxation Office’s get-tough-on-debt campaign to reduce Australia’s yawning $58 billion in outstanding revenue collections has drawn sort shrift from the tax ombud, who reckons complaints have “increased sharply in the six months to September 2026, with 2,376 complaints received — 74% more than in the same period last year.”
In a report that puts the number of complaints filed to the oversight body at “180% above the same period two years ago,” Tax ombud Ruth Owen has warned that “we are seeing increased complaints about how the ATO is collecting tax debt owed and how interest is applied to the debt, often making the amount due impossible to pay back.”