Jim Chalmers denies Albanese overruled him on ATO credit card payments
Australia’s treasurer says he and the prime minister had already agreed to extend the transition before the planned ban on credit card payments for tax bills.
Australian treasurer Jim Chalmers denied on 14 October that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had overruled him over a delay to the Australian Taxation Office’s planned ban on credit card payments for tax bills. Chalmers said they had discussed a longer transition the previous Wednesday and agreed on the need to step in.
How the ATO payment delay came about
Albanese said he intervened after Andrew McKellar, chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, texted him on Thursday morning. According to Albanese, an announcement followed by Friday morning. The two accounts differ in emphasis about who initiated the intervention; neither establishes that Chalmers was overruled.
The ATO had planned to stop accepting credit card payments for tax bills from 1 December, citing an estimated annual cost of almost A$200 million. Chalmers announced funding last week to keep card payments available until the end of the financial year. The Guardian reported that the ATO is an independent authority and the government cannot direct the tax commissioner’s decisions.
Sources and context
- Jim Chalmers denies Anthony Albanese rolled him over credit card payments for tax billsThe Guardian
- Live: PM and Treasurer both claim credit for delay to ATO credit card banABC News
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