The Australian Taxation Office received “clear advice” from the government’s chief legal adviser before launching a campaign to resurrect historical debts that caused widespread confusion and distress.
Meanwhile, the federal government has distanced itself from the tax initiative, arguing that decisions and processes related to the debts were a matter for the ATO.
A recent surge in debt collection activity, which included more than 200,000 letters sent to taxpayers and agents, stems from a policy change last year to change filters on the ATO’s systems that had previously ignored old debts deemed uneconomical to pursue.
Dubbed robotax, the initiative has drawn comparison to the flawed robodebt compliance program, given the reliance…
