Latest news with #ACTRevenueOffice
ABC News
20-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
ACT Revenue Office 'lacks fair and reasonable approach' to recouping historical land tax debt, Ombudsman finds
The ACT Ombudsman has issued a scathing review of the ACT Revenue Office's heavy-handed collection of historical land tax debts, which it says has left people "confused, upset and distressed". Last year, the Ombudsman received 10 complaints about the assessments issued for historical debts, spanning back between six and 17 years. The debts, at times, included backdated interest and penalty tax. Land tax applies to ACT properties that are not the owner's principal place of residence, such as a rental or vacant property. An Ombudsman investigation found the ACT Revenue Office's (ACTRO) approach to recouping the money placed a "high burden on individuals" without considering their circumstances. While the revenue office was found to have acted lawfully, the Ombudsman said systemic changes were needed to fairly collect land tax debts in the ACT. The Ombudsman's findings come as an ABC investigation revealed criticism of the ACT Revenue Office has been building over its methods of collecting alleged debts from Canberrans, including stamp duty. People have described ACT Revenue Office notifications and letters as "heavy-handed" and "aggressive", often leaving them feeling "like criminals". The law does not set a time limit for raising land tax debts, but individuals are only required to keep records for a minimum of five years. In one case reported to the Ombudsman, Tara* received a land tax assessment for 2006-07 and 2009-10, showing she owed more than $5,000 in land tax and more than $1,800 in penalties and interest. She was asked to confirm records dating back to 2006, documentation she had not retained having sold the property five years after purchase. Tara paid the full amount to avoid further charges but was later refunded the $1,800, six months after requesting a review. The Ombudsman found the ACTRO had "no procedural guidance for its staff to address the sensitivities of recouping historical debt". It also noted people felt threatened by the risk of incorrectly recalling historical details and committing an offence. The complaints to the Ombudsman also raised concerns about the short length people were given to pay off their debts. In one case, Charlotte* was ordered to pay more than $5,000 in land tax and another $7,000 in interest and penalties within five weeks. The pensioner was experiencing financial hardship and signed up to a 12-month payment plan. People on payment plans continue to accrue interest — a process the Ombudsman said should be reconsidered. Individuals who disagree with the assessment notice can request a review, but interest will also continue to accrue during the objection process. The Ombudsman found fewer than half of objections were dealt with within six months, while others had to wait more than a year. "We were given just over six weeks from the date of the notice to pay the charges listed on the notice of assessment," a complainant told the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman found the ACTRO needed to improve how it manages objections "before using AI [artificial intelligence] and automation to generate lists for staff to send thousands of request for information emails". The Ombudsman made four recommendations to improve fairness, accountability, transparency and communication. In a letter to the Ombudsman, ACT Revenue Commissioner Kim Salisbury said he agreed to all the recommendations and would work with the Ombudsman to "contemplate changes to our processes". "ACTRO is committed to ensuring a customer focus with fairness and transparency in its processes," Mr Salisbury said. "While your examination of the 10 case studies has highlighted some useful aspects of future work for ACTRO, it is in the context of 4,300 land tax compliance assessments issued by ACTRO since 2022." ACT Shadow Treasurer Ed Cocks welcomed the Ombudsman's findings, describing the report as "a wake-up call". "This report highlights the deeply entrenched culture within the ACT Revenue Office," Mr Cocks said. "[It's] one that prioritises clawing back cash over treating Canberrans fairly. "It's outrageous that people are being pursued for decade-old debts through the revenue office's broken process, with little notice and limited opportunity to challenge them." Finance Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith met with the Ombudsman to discuss the investigation and said the government would "expedite" work to improve revenue office correspondence with Canberrans. "I have been concerned to hear about the distress experienced by some Canberrans as a result of their engagement with the ACT Revenue Office," Minister Stephen-Smith said. "The Revenue Commissioner has accepted the Ombudsman's recommendations, and I will be meeting with him tomorrow to discuss how expertise from across government can be brought to bear to support their implementation." Ms Stephen-Smith said she would seek further policy advice from the revenue office and ACT Treasury about improvements that could be made to processes for claiming concessions, undertaking compliance, and the application of penalties and interest.
ABC News
19-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Canberrans stressed amid stamp duty concession reviews
Canberrans have been receiving what they say are aggressive letters from the ACT Revenue Office after a review of their stamp duty concession. Debt support services say most people are trying to pay their debt off, where possible.
ABC News
18-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Calls for compassion and review as stamp duty concession reassessment likened to Robodebt
Canberrans say they are receiving aggressive and impersonal demands for money from the ACT Revenue Office in a system one MLA likened to the Robodebt scheme. There are calls to reform the office's review and repayment system from within the Legislative Assembly amidst growing criticism of the language and impersonal approach taken. It comes after several Canberrans came forward in response to ABC's reporting last week and said they were on the receiving end of aggressive demands for repayments. After she separated from her ex-husband several years ago, Steph was determined for a fresh start. The ACT stamp duty concession scheme offered a vital doorway to buy a home. "Honestly, it was so important," Steph said. Like many who were initially granted the money, Steph did a self-assessment online and had legal assistance to try to ensure she was eligible. "I had been legally separated from my ex-husband the year before," Steph said. "My ex had moved out, we were completely financially separated, and I thought, 'Cool, I'm not in a domestic partnership.' So I applied for the concession." She purchased her house and thought everything was in order, but in the middle of last year, Steph was informed she was being reassessed. The information the revenue office wanted made Steph "pretty uncomfortable," she said — being deeply personal and sensitive — particularly when a written notice arrived after an initial phone call. "[The] following correspondence from them was really quite hardline, bordering on aggressive," she said. This part of the process — the language, tone and warnings contained in the notices — has been repeatedly highlighted by those who have contacted the ABC. Within days of responding to the review notification, Steph received an email from the Revenue Office stating she had three weeks to pay $35,000 — $23,000 in stamp duty plus more than $6,000 in accrued interest over that time and an almost $6,000 penalty. The office said that because Steph's divorce had not been finalised, her ex's income should have been included in the income test, even though they were legally separated. Like the other notices of reassessment that the ABC has seen, the options provided to people for payment plans or for financial counselling help was contained in a single line: "The debt recovery team can be contacted by emailing DebtManagement@ or by calling 02 6207 0028 and selecting option 6, then option 1." Steph said it was impossible to pay up front. "I had to apply for a mortgage top-up, and that [took] more than three weeks coming through," she said. Steph decided to appeal the decision with the help of lawyers, at further personal expense. That left her open to financial risk, but Steph was adamant something must be done because she believed the decision by the Revenue Office was fundamentally flawed. "They are wrong, and I need to fight this," she said. After her legal battle, the ACT Treasury granted her a special "act of grace" payment. She was reimbursed the money the Revenue Office claimed she owed, but not thousands in interest and legal fees. She considers herself one of the lucky few in a system she says preys on the vulnerable. "The legislation still stands as it is and this could still happen to other people," she said. In response to questions by the ABC, an ACT Revenue Office spokesperson said: ACTRO's correspondence attempts to inform people of their obligations, reasons, options and possible consequences. Correspondence is regularly reviewed as part of standard operations. ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury said it was "really distressing" to hear stories like Steph's from many Canberrans just trying to do the right thing. "The irony in this whole thing is that this scheme is targeting people who are already struggling to get a home to live in. This scheme is designed to lift them up and help them get across that barrier." He said receiving "legalistic" and "unclear, overly officious, seemingly intimidating" correspondence from a government body lacked compassion. Mr Rattenbury said this scheme was "clearly on a different scale" to Robodebt, "but the principles are the same". "It's about treating people with decency and giving them a reasonable chance to address either an error or to make their case as to why, in fact, the Revenue Office might have made a mistake, he said. Mr Rattenbury would like to see a "human touch" in the debt collection process such as, for example, a case officer to talk to. Mr Rattenbury welcomed a formal inquiry into the scheme which was unanimously supported by the ACT Legislative Assembly last week. "It's going to be very important to create the space for people to come forward and tell their stories," he said. "That is how we are going to draw out the best information here." Care Financial Counselling and Consumer Law CEO Carmel Franklin has helped thousands of Canberrans deal with paying off debt. She said most people in debt genuinely wanted to pay it off. "The people who come to us can't pay debts rather than won't pay debts," she said. "It's not that they're wilfully deciding not to pay. It's that they are in a position because of life circumstances, often beyond their control, that they're unable to make the payments at that point. "They come to us quite distressed, quite embarrassed, feeling shameful that they have these debts." Ms Franklin said the initial approach by organisations seeking repayment was critical. "If people feel that somebody wants to help them and work through what the issues are, they will engage. If they feel like they're being treated poorly or they're scared, they are more likely to put their head in the sand and do nothing about it, which is actually worse for both the person trying to collect the money and the person who owes the money." She said many organisations were learning to tailor debt-collecting approaches to suit the people involved and she said the Revenue Office could use something similar to ensure people were treated fairly and humanely. It's a sentiment shared by Steph.
ABC News
12-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
ACT Revenue Office demands hundreds of Canberrans repay tens of thousands of dollars in home stamp duty concessions
Marian's son travelled a long road to live independently. After many years of hard work, dedication and family support, things were looking up. "So he was very well, and he had got his ute and a job, and he got the place lined up, and then it was almost too exciting for words," Marian said. He bought a unit, with the help of the ACT government's stamp duty concession scheme, which is a program designed to help first home buyers break into the market. It was naturally a big achievement for Marian's son, and his first six months of living in his new place went well, but then came an abrupt change. "He had a complete collapse really, of his mental health," Marian said. With little to no warning, Marian's son had to move into 24-hour supported care. It was a very challenging time, and with a mortgage on the home that needed regular repayments, the family moved a tenant into the unit. By doing this — and because Marian's son hadn't been in the home for at least 12 months — the family unwittingly breached the concession scheme rules. The ACT Revenue Office wrote to Marian's son asking for an explanation for why he was not in the home, with a series of requests for personal and financial details. It also included clear warnings if he did not comply. "Failure to supply the above information by the due date may result in the imposition of up to 90 per cent penalty tax in respect of a tax default," the ACT Revenue Office notice said. "Please note, giving false or misleading information is a serious offence." Marian said that was a confronting experience for her son. "He was still struggling, and because of the nature of the way that they write their letters, he just ignored it … because it's sort of too hard. And that was really too hard," Marian said. She said that the letter, and a series of follow up notices, were demanding in how they were worded. "They used [a] very heavy-handed manner that they have and … very legalistic [in] their talk." When Marian discovered the notices, she said she considered appealing due to her son's situation and the difficulty they were all facing, but she feared further penalties. And interest was accruing the whole time on the concession amount, so Marian did everything she could to find the money to pay. "We just had to ... beg, borrow and buy the rest of it," Marian said. "It was very stressful because it's very hard to have to ask people for money out of the blue." Marian and her son aren't the only ones to have recently gone through this experience. Hundreds of ACT residents have had their stamp duty concessions reviewed in the last few years. Thomas Ang thought his young family had finally broken through the brick wall of home ownership. For a long time he didn't consider trying to purchase a home, as he was focused on steadily building up his savings and his superannuation to afford a deposit. But like many renters, his hand was forced. "We were asked to leave our rental, and it's incredibly difficult to find a rental as well, especially now with a son," Thomas said. He looked up an ACT government online calculator which assesses someone's overall income to see if they were under the threshold to qualify for a stamp duty concession. The calculator said he did, but he wanted to be sure, so he got legal advice. "I didn't even question that. Didn't even have the thought they were doing anything wrong, or … that we weren't eligible." When he bought his home, Thomas used some of his saved-up superannuation. He didn't realise that this was considered by the ACT Revenue Office to put his yearly earnings beyond the threshold for the stamp duty concession. He is adamant that he was never informed that this could be the case. Late last year, the ACT Revenue Office told him it was reviewing his concession and needed sensitive personal details — the same notice given to Marian's son. "They gave us about two weeks to reply to that," Thomas said. "So it's 4th of December, we went on holidays on the 6th of December overseas, so it was very difficult to try and get any of that documentation ready." Thomas made that deadline, but then soon afterwards he got a notice to pay back $25,000 within three weeks or face further interest and debt payments. "It was horrifying … and made me angry," he said. Everyone I've spoken to is confused," he said. The ACT Revenue Office allows for objections to its decisions, but the appeal process can take more than six months. Thomas is appealing the decision against his family, but if unsuccessful, he will be liable for extra interest that accrues during the time it takes for the appeal to be assessed and ruled upon. The situation has left him "completely stressed out". "Do I have to now sell the home?" he said. "I wouldn't be able to afford a home again if that happened." ACT Shadow Treasurer and Liberal MLA Ed Cocks has been gathering cases of people who the revenue office is recouping money from since late last year. He said the situation first came to his attention when people got in touch with his office about their difficulties in dealing with the revenue office. "The starkest situation was clearly someone who had been trying to escape domestic violence," he said. "People have spoken with lawyers to try and get their assessment. People who've done the online assessment tool that the government puts out there — and they thought that they were eligible. Mr Cocks wants an immediate pause on the retrospective reviews. He's calling for a formal inquiry into the ACT Revenue Office's reassessment and debt collection practices under the home buyer concession scheme. He said it was not just stamp duty concessions that the revenue office was initiating reviews into. "We're talking about rates, land tax and those sorts of things as well, and they [citizens] just don't have the documents anymore to prove what the situation was," Mr Cocks said. "For some people, they're scared that they're going to lose their home. For some people, it's even more severe. I've had people who I was concerned for their mental wellbeing." The ACT Revenue Commissioner wasn't available to speak with the ABC for this story. However, in a written response to a series of questions, a spokesperson for the commissioner acknowledged that there has been a significant increase in reassessments since the middle of 2022. The spokesperson said that "during COVID years, compliance activity was scaled down and staff transferred to deliver community support benefits". Source: ACT Revenue Office The spokesperson added that "the home buyer concession is not approved, people declare they will meet the eligibility criteria and the concession is offset against their duty liability at the time they purchase a property". ACT Finance Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith acknowledged that many people who has received notices were confused and afraid. "I have been really distressed to hear some of the stories about the impact on people," she said. "I have a great deal of sympathy for those individuals, particularly people who genuinely thought that their circumstances made them eligible for the concession. "And then they receive a letter that they don't either understand or it seems like it's quite a threat, that is really concerning. Ms Stephen-Smith defended the need for the revenue office to review cases of people who had claimed a stamp duty concession. "It's not that the revenue office approves it and then goes back and reconsiders their approval. Many tax lines are self-assessed, and that's the process for the home buyer concession scheme." She also said that under ACT law, the revenue office worked independently of government and couldn't be instructed to modify or waive debts. "This does have to be a balanced approach — the vast majority of people who receive these reassessments are not eligible for the concession," Ms Stephen-Smith said. "We don't want a system that encourages everybody to request a review of that decision so that they can simply defer what they legitimately owe to the tax office." When asked what he would say if he could speak to someone from the revenue office or government, Thomas Ang was clear. "Why are you doing this? Like, how do you explain your reasoning behind all this?" And Marian had a request. "They should just behave like human beings and … treat people in a genuine manner, without acting like we're criminals."
