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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Jonathan Barrett Business editor

UNBELIEVABLE: Ato rebuked by tax watchdog for using debt collectors on people doing the right thing | History Defined

The sign of an Australian Taxation Office shopfront
The inspector general of taxation and ombudsman said people with tax debts were often already in financial distress. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

The Australian Taxation Office must be considerate of a person’s circumstances, Australia’s inspector general of taxation has warned, after a spike in complaints over a third-party collector used to chase tax debts.

On Monday, Guardian Australia reported that the ATO had referred more than 355,000 taxpayers, including welfare recipients, to the private equity-backed debt collector Recoveriescorp since January 2024.

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