Labor ministers split over the ATO's credit-card ban, and the Opposition calls the government 'all over the shop'
On Thursday Housing Minister Clare O'Neil told Nine's Today program the ATO should reconsider its decision to stop accepting credit cards for tax payments after November 30, and Small Business Minister Anne Aly joined her. Twenty-five minutes later Assistant Minister Andrew Charlton backed the ban, saying the ATO offers flexible payment plans and that if businesses lose card revenue they would have to raise prices. The Guardian, the Herald, the AFR, SBS and ABC reported the clash. The ATO says about 2.3 per cent of tax payments were made by credit card in 2024–25 and it will not pass merchant fees to the community. Angus Taylor called the stance hypocritical given the Reserve Bank's surcharge ban, which Treasurer Jim Chalmers championed as a cost-of-living measure. Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson and the Opposition said the government is all over the shop.
The ATO is an independent agency, and the government has to choose between telling it what to do and defending a decision that businesses call a second blow after the surcharge ban.
If you pay your tax by card, you have until November 30 on current settings. After that you will need to pay from a bank account or arrange a payment plan.
A public agency should not absorb fees that the Reserve Bank has just said businesses should not pass on, and payment plans exist.
Banning surcharges while refusing to wear the cost is a double standard that hits small firms using cards to manage cash flow.
Watch whether the Treasurer or the Prime Minister settles the argument before November 30. A government that cannot agree on its own agency's policy will struggle to defend its cost-of-living credentials.
DailyDrop Australia edition No. 4 · Morning · THU., OCT. 8, 2026