The Tax Office has a duty to collect what is owed, but rising complaints show the system risks becoming heavy-handed, opaque and too hard to navigate for taxpayers trying to do the right thing.

As a believer that taxes should be higher rather than lower, I like to think of myself as a friend of the Australian Tax Office. But at present I’m finding the taxman pretty hard to like.

I note that complaints to the Inspector-General of Taxation about the tax office have more than doubled. And I have my own complaint to make.

Inspector-General of Taxation and Tax Ombudsman Ruth Owen told Senate estimates earlier this month that complaints against the tax office had increased by 127 per cent, mainly because of the office’s increased focus on debt collection and its issuing of penalty notices.

“Most of those complaints are from people trying to pay their tax but who can’t meet the conditions set by the ATO,” she said. Small businesses were finding it tough to meet the conditions set by the office. “We continue to look out for people or businesses most at risk of falling between the cracks and for whom the tax system is not working as intended.

“I have publicly raised my concerns about how tax debt is being collected and enforced, and the impact on taxpayers who are trying to do the right thing. The ATO does have administrative powers to offer relief for taxpayers........

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