‘Traumatising experience’: ATO under fire for denying debt relief to at-risk taxpayer in robotax fallout

Tax ombudsman reveals agency acknowledged person was at immediate risk of homelessness and criticises it for lack of empathy

The Australian Taxation Office denied debt relief to a taxpayer despite acknowledging the person was in serious financial hardship and at immediate risk of homelessness, according to details released by the tax ombudsman.

The person, whose name was not disclosed, is one of many caught by the ATO’s widely criticised “robotax” scheme that has resurrected decades-old debts in pursuit of more than $15bn.