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We, the undersigned, are small business owners, workers and customers who believe the surcharge ban is bad for small business, bad for consumers and should never have happened.
The Government's surcharge ban did not make the cost of card payments disappear. The banks still charge the fees. Small businesses are simply no longer allowed to show them. So the local café, the community pharmacy and the tradie are forced to absorb the cost or build it into higher prices for every customer, while the big supermarkets enjoy preferential terms from the banks that the corner store can only dream of.
And on the very morning the ban started, the ATO made things worse.
With no notice, the ATO announced it would no longer accept credit card payments for tax bills, because it does not want to pass merchant fees on to the community. Yet that is exactly what the Government is now forcing every small business in the country to do.
That is one rule for Canberra and another for the corner store. If the Government's own tax collector cannot absorb the cost, a family-run café cannot be expected to either.
For many small businesses, paying a tax bill by credit card is a simple, legal way to manage cash flow and meet their obligations on time. And when money is tight, cash flow is king. Small businesses are already facing near-record insolvencies, falling profitability and the squeeze of payday super. Cutting off this pathway only makes it harder for them to stay on top of their tax and keep their doors open.
If nothing changes, more small businesses will fall behind, more will face the ATO's debt collectors and more "open" signs will come down for good. If the ATO reverses its decision, small businesses get back a tool they rely on to manage cash flow, stay compliant and keep employing local people.
As a first step to undoing the damage of the surcharge ban, we ask the Parliament to require the ATO to overturn its decision and reinstate credit card payments for tax bills.
Small business should be backed, not billed.