Arabic version: مكتب الضرائب الأسترالي يدعو إلى منتدى خاص بشأن مدفوعات بطاقات الائتمان

According to ABC News, the Australian Taxation Office has convened a special forum with members of its small business stewardship group after business backlash over its decision to stop accepting credit card payments.

The ATO announced last week that it would stop accepting credit cards after November 30, following Reserve Bank of Australia reforms that removed card surcharges from October 1. The tax office said it would keep accepting cards through the transition period but that continuing beyond then was untenable.

Business groups have criticised the move, arguing small businesses are expected to absorb card transaction costs while losing credit-card payments to the ATO as a cash-flow option. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar called for the decision to be reversed and described it as a “clear double standard”.

In an October 2 statement, taxation commissioner Rob Heferen said the ATO would have preferred to continue accepting credit cards, but card companies had not offered a sufficiently low rate. He said merchant fees were estimated at almost $200 million annually and were expected to rise.

The ATO said credit cards account for 2.3 per cent of payments to the tax office. It said more than 60 per cent of credit-card payments by value came from privately owned and wealthy groups, and public and multinational businesses, while about 5 per cent of all small businesses used cards to pay their taxes.