Tax taking credit card payments

A long-held aspiration of banks and credit card providers is to entice government to accept their payment cards as one way to make taxation payments, and the industry may soon be about to get its way.

Michael D'Ascenzo, Commissioner of Taxation, at a speech to a small business summit in Melbourne yesterday disclosed that since February the ATO was accepting credit card payments for the payment of business tax debts under a pilot program.

He said since the pilot began in February 2009, taxpayers made around 8000 payments worth $24 million by credit card.

The taxpayers have to pay a fee to their credit card provider (rather than a surcharge on their tax to cover the merchant fee the ATO may still pay).