The Aporia · Hanson and Spender united in demand for tax office ban reversal

Hanson and Spender united in demand for tax office ban reversal

Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗

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APA MLA Chicago

Newling, N. (2026, October 2). Hanson and Spender united in demand for tax office ban reversal. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/hanson-and-spender-united-in-demand-for-tax-office-ban-reversal-20261002-p612dk.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Pauline Hanson and Allegra Spender have jointly criticized the Australian Taxation Office's decision to ban credit card payments for tax bills starting November 30. The ATO justified the move by stating that only 2.3% of tax payments were made via credit cards in the previous financial year, with large organizations accounting for 60% of those transactions. However, Spender and Hanson argue that this policy will unfairly impact small businesses and their customers' cash flow, calling on the ATO to reverse its decision.

Written by AI on 2026-10-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Pauline Hanson, leader of One Nation, and Allegra Spender, an independent MP who often aligns with Labor, have come together to challenge the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) decision to ban credit card transactions for tax payments starting November 30. This rare political alliance follows a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) directive that banned merchants from charging surcharges on Mastercard, Visa, and eftpos networks, which Labor estimated would save consumers $1.6 billion annually.

Industry Minister Tim Ayres defended the ATO’s ban, citing "profiteering" credit card companies as the reason behind their decision. However, small business owners are concerned that they will have to absorb the costs of credit card fees and pass them on to customers through higher prices. The RBA contends this could inflate product costs by around 0.1 percent.

The political dispute highlights the tension between government efforts to protect consumers from additional charges and the practical challenges faced by small businesses in managing transaction fees.

Written for “Tax Office Ban Reversal Demand” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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This article reads unscored and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

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61/100

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Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Nick Newling

36 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

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Also by Nick Newling

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 36 articles by Nick Newling →

Topics

ATO Labor One Nation The Reserve Bank of Australia the Australian Taxation Office’s

Subjects

ATO ORG · 7× Labor ORG · 6× Spender PERSON · 3× One Nation ORG · 2× Pauline Hanson PERSON · 2× Allegra Spender PERSON · 1× Mastercard ORG · 1× The Reserve Bank of Australia ORG · 1× Tim Ayres PERSON · 1× the Australian Taxation Office’s ORG · 1×

Narrative

The tax office subsequently announced a plan to ban credit card transactions from November 30, saying in a statement: “As a government agency, the ATO has decided it would not be appropriate for the cost of credit card merchant fees to be transferred to the community,” an agency statement reads.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-02

🔮 The Reserve Bank of Australia on Thursday banned surcharges for Mastercard, Visa and eftpos networks, after a campaign from Labor the government said would save consumers $1.6 billion a year.

2026-10-02 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Hanson and Spender united in demand for tax office ban reversal · assertive framing

Claims (22 extracted, 1 hedged)

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and teal MP Allegra Spender have made a rare unified demand after the taxation office announced its plan to ban the use of credit cards for the payment of tax bills. asserted

office → make → bills

Industry Minister Tim Ayres on Friday defended the move, blaming “profiteering” credit card companies for forcing the Australian Taxation Office’s hand amid growing anger on social media over Labor’s banning of card surcharges. asserted

Ayres → defend → surcharges

The Reserve Bank of Australia on Thursday banned surcharges for Mastercard, Visa and eftpos networks, after a campaign from Labor the government said would save consumers $1.6 billion a year. asserted

government → ban → billion

As of October 1 merchants can no longer charge additional fees on checkout, which the Albanese government argues will save consumers money at the till. asserted

government → charge → till

The move immediately prompted backlash from small business operators who say they will be forced to pass along charges to consumers in the upfront cost of goods and services. asserted

they → prompt → goods

The RBA argues the transfer of charges to product pricing will inflate costs by around 0.1 per cent. asserted

transfer → argue → cent

statement → announce → community

The tax office said only 2.3 per cent of tax payments were made with credit cards in the 2024-25 financial year, and that 60 per cent of those charges were made by large organisations. asserted

cent → say → organisations

“The credit card companies are charging too much, and that is a charge, ultimately, on the taxpayers because the ATO has to pay it. asserted

ATO → charge → it

It’s a charge on Australian taxpayers. asserted

It → ’ → taxpayers

It’s not the right thing to do,” Ayres told News24 on Friday. asserted

Ayres → ’ → Friday

“There are alternative ways of paying, and the ATO will work through that with their customers and their stakeholders.” asserted

ATO → be → customers

Spender on Friday called for the decision to be reversed, saying the ATO was acting hypocritically. “I’m hearing that all the time from people in my community who are small business [owners], and it’s particularly cash flow that is really hard to manage. asserted

that → call → community

So this is where I think the ATO should reverse this,” Spender told Nine’s Today show on Friday. asserted

Spender → think → Friday

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson echoed Spender’s comments, saying the move was an “unintended consequence because [Labor] never think anything through”, as she joined calls from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the decision’s reversal. asserted

she → echo → reversal

“Businesses are expected to absorb these fees, while the ATO avoids them by withdrawing credit-card payments,” Hanson said. asserted

Hanson → expect → payments

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said the government was “insensitive”, as he sought to blame the decision on a lack of business experience from Labor MPs. asserted

he → say → MPs

“On the day that [Labor] impose these surcharges on small businesses, has decided that the ATO won’t take credit card payments because they don’t want the surcharges. asserted

they → impose → surcharges

I mean, seriously, you couldn’t make it up,” Taylor said. asserted

Taylor → mean → it

Several social media posts have gone viral accusing the government of inadvertently inflating the price of products, comically depicting business owners rolling merchant fees into the base cost of products. asserted

owners → go → products

The campaign mimics one deployed following Labor’s alterations to the capital gains tax discount in the May budget. uncertain

campaign → mimic → budget

Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter. asserted

Subscribers → sign → newsletter