PM accused of ‘humiliating’ treasurer over ATO ban U-turn

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese admitted to rolling his treasurer to convince the Australian Tax Office to delay its widely criticised credit card payment ban, while Jim Chalmers insists he was involved in discussions.

Albanese revealed he stepped in to delay the ATO’s ban on credit card payments until the end of the financial year after he received a text message from Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar.

“Andrew did text me last Thursday morning, and by Friday morning, we had an announcement and that was an example of a relationship that takes time to develop,” he told a business event on Tuesday night.

“That trust, where you can have a discussion saying, ‘It’s in hand. I agree with what you are saying and I’ll get it done with the early announcement this time tomorrow’.”

Chalmers on Friday had announced that he had successfully negotiated with the ATO after hearing uproar from the business community.

Business owners argued the ATO’s decision to ban credit card payments to avoid absorbing a $200 million cost from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s ban on card surcharge fees would impact their cash flow.

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“We try not to interfere with the RBA or the ATO when they go about designing and implementing this surcharge ban,” Chalmers told reporters.

“But it’s really important that we have stepped in today to make it possible for the ATO to continue to take credit card payments until the end of the financial year.”

The treasurer rejected the assertion he was rolled, telling reporters on Wednesday that he was involved in the federal intervention.

“It is true that there were discussions with ACCI on Thursday. We were involved in some of those discussions at office level. They were engaging with my team” he said.

“On Thursday, there were discussions with the business community.

“On Friday, [Assistant Treasurer] Daniel Mulino and I did take a proposal to ministers to step in to provide a much longer transition period so the ATO had more time to consult with small business and to get this right.

“There was also work happening on Wednesday of last week. The prime minister and I were in discussions on Wednesday of last week.”

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Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson suggested the relationship between Albanese and Chalmers may sour after his federal counterpart was publicly humiliated.

“The prime minister has a kink for punishing small businesses and a fetish for humiliating his treasurer,” he told News24.

“I see this as a consistent pattern of behaviour where the prime minister constantly goes in, overrides his treasurer, humiliates him in public.”