The Australian Taxation Office denied debt relief to a taxpayer despite acknowledging the person was in serious financial hardship and at immediate risk of homelessness, according to details released by the tax ombudsman.
The person, whose name was not disclosed, is one of many caught by the ATO’s widely criticised “robotax” scheme that has resurrected decades-old debts in pursuit of more than $15bn.
Karen Payne, the country’s top tax bureaucrat in charge of the complaints management service, said the lack of empathy shown in the ATO’s dealings with someone in difficult circumstances shows how an agency can wrongly prioritise its debt collection function over its obligation to support the community.
She said the ATO had also…
