Australian Tax Office Is Unfair on Debt Relief, Watchdog Says

The Australian Tax Office has treated small taxpayers unfairly since it toughened its approach to collecting general interest charges on late or unpaid tax, the national Tax Ombudsman said Monday.

The ATO’s inconsistent handling of requests to remit, or forgive, general interest charges has become a major concern in the last two years, after the tax authority made it more costly to delay payments, the taxpayer advocate said in a report.

There is a perception that the rules are being applied more harshly to those who least able to afford it, the ombudsman’s report said. For example, it noted, ...