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The Sydney Morning Herald
· collected 2026-10-09 · by The Herald's View
Treasurer Jim Chalmers intervened to halt the Australian Taxation Office's ban on credit card payments for small businesses, allocating additional funds until June next year. The ATO planned to stop accepting credit card payments due to high fees, but this decision faced criticism from various sectors and exposed the government’s poor consultation with small businesses before implementing the policy. Chalmers acknowledged the intervention as necessary to consult further and ensure the policy's correctness.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Treasurer Jim Chalmers delayed the Australian Taxation Office's (ATO) plan to ban credit card payments for tax bills, originally set to take effect on November 30. This decision came after significant backlash from small businesses and opposition parties. The ATO had argued that continuing to accept credit cards would cost taxpayers about $200 million annually due to fees associated with merchant services. Chalmers announced additional funding to support a year-long transition period, pushing back the ban until June 30 of the following year. This move aims to allow more consultation and better engagement with small businesses impacted by the change.
Written for “ATO Credit Card Ban Delayed” on 2026-10-09,
grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.65, but every quote it verified points right, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 67824: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-10-09
Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ intervention to temporarily halt the Australian Taxation Office’s controversial banning of credit card payments to help small businesses is management of a crisis of the Albanese government’s own making.
asserted
intervention → halt → making
Chalmers is to allocate additional funds to the ATO after the ban – set to come into effect on November 30 – came under heavy criticism from the business community, opposition parties and some Labor backbenchers.
asserted
ban → allocate → community
“We’ve stepped in to ensure that the tax office can take credit card payments until the end of June next year,” Chalmers said.
asserted
Chalmers → step → June
“This will give them the time to consult more with small business and to get it right.
asserted
it → give → business
We try not to interfere with the RBA or the ATO … but it’s really important that we have stepped in today.”
asserted
we → try → RBA
Since then, despite a run on cash during the COVID years when money was hoarded, banks have made a motza as the declining use of cash largely helped to lower security expenditure and enabling eftpos, Visa or Mastercard to become king.
asserted
use → hoard → eftpos
The Albanese government announced in 2024 it was prepared to ban credit card charges.
asserted
it → announce → charges
The aim was to take pressure off consumers and businesses and help with the cost of living.
asserted
aim → take → living
Following a review by the Reserve Bank of Australia, on October 1 credit card surcharges were banned and interchange fees lowered, with businesses no longer able to add a surcharge when customers pay with plastic.
asserted
customers → follow → plastic
The RBA estimated the move would save consumers about $1.6 billion annually.
asserted
move → estimate → billion
But when the RBA delivered the goods 10 days ago the plan blew up in the government’s face.
asserted
plan → deliver → face
Along with helping consumers, the RBA introduced other measures intended to lower the burden on small business.
asserted
RBA → help → business
But, in a tough business environment, some small businesses elected to go “cash only” or increase charges for some items, a measure that only served to shift the burden back to consumers.
asserted
that → elect → consumers
Then the independent ATO announced it would stop taking credit card payments for tax bills, arguing it could not absorb the fees.
uncertain
it → announce → fees
A blind banker could have seen that coming.
uncertain
that → see → ?
However, nobody in Cabinet seemed to have the foresight.
asserted
nobody → seem → foresight
Such lack of small business nous exposes the cabinet’s insularity and a worrying naivety unbecoming to a government charged with navigating the nation through what is clearly a worsening economic situation.
asserted
what → expose → nation
The latest failure is yet another example to how not to run government and joins the Indigenous Voice to parliament referendum, franking credits and the “pink batts” scheme as badly thought through, well-intentioned policy.
asserted
failure → run → policy
The policy should have been a lay-down misère.
asserted
policy → lay → ?
After all, everybody hates the banks.
asserted
everybody → hat → banks
Instead, taxpayers are now on the hook for around $200 million to paper over the Albanese government’s poor consultation, botched groundwork, and total failure to co-ordinate with its own tax office before rolling out the policy.
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asserted
that → paper → own
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