The government has agreed to let the tax office keep accepting credit-card payments until the end of the financial year in June 2027. The opposition is calling for the ban to be scrapped altogether.
The Australian Taxation Office had planned to stop accepting the payments from late November, after the Reserve Bank's ban on card surcharges took effect. The office will now defer the change under an agreement that includes additional government funding. Australian media reported that the original deadline was November 30.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said the delay was not enough. In an interview with News24, he said small businesses would be hit “tomorrow rather than today” and urged the government to abandon the ban and the treasurer to resign. Taylor also criticized the additional funding for the tax office, calling it a taxpayer-funded bailout.
The opposition is preparing legislation to repeal the ban and plans to introduce it before parliament resumes next week. Taylor's remarks represent the opposition's position. The government has agreed to a delay, not a cancellation of the rule.