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<\/p>\nA restaurant owner says small businesses in Australia have reached breaking point, and has called out the Australian Taxation Office\u2019s move to ban credit card payments as the latest punishment.<\/p>\n
The ATO is standing firm on a decision to refuse credit card payments for tax bills from December 1, despite a meeting with 20 different business groups on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
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Nahji Chu claimed small businesses can\u2019t keep absorbing price rises and cost of living pressures.\u00a0Today<\/p>\n
A Sydney<\/a> small business owner now says the perceived lack of support from the government and other organisations could lead to entrepreneurs exiting Australia<\/a>.<\/p>\n In an impassioned plea on Today, Nahji Chu \u2013 owner of Lady Chu, a chain of inner Sydney restaurants \u2013 said small businesses did not have any room to absorb more cost increases.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re dodging bullets the whole time, and all of the sudden, you can\u2019t pay your ATO bill with your credit card,\u201d she said. \u201cFor a small business, that\u2019s cash flow, it\u2019s cash flow, and it means breathing space each month.<\/p>\n Chu said businesses could save up to $10,000 using a credit card to pay a tax bill.<\/p>\n \u201cIf revenue\u2019s coming in and you don\u2019t have the credit card facility, then of course you\u2019ve got to increase your prices, you can\u2019t keep absorbing everything,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve already got shock absorbers that are completely blunt from what everything the government\u2019s done, you\u2019re down to your skin. You\u2019re getting out of bed and coming home with blood and tears.\u201d<\/p>\n She said it was \u201chypocrisy\u201d for the government to celebrate the removal of credit and debit card surcharges as a win for consumers while the ATO stood firm on its ban.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s the incentive for being a good citizen? It\u2019s just un-Australian, literally, it\u2019s ridiculously just so un-Australian,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m getting out of bed, working really hard, I\u2019ve assimilated, I\u2019ve done everything Australia\u2019s asked me to do, I\u2019ve said thank you, I\u2019ve worked hard, I\u2019m not on the dole. What are they trying to do? Get me onto the dole?<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s called communism. It feels like it, they\u2019re just not calling it what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Andrew McKellar called on the government to intervene.\u00a0Today<\/p>\n She warned there could be a \u201cbrain drain\u201d from Australia as entrepreneurs exit due to rising costs and difficulties in doing business, and lobbying groups have called on the government to step in and mediate between small businesses and the ATO.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s time for the political leaders to step in,\u201d Andrew McKellar from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry told Today.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope someone is listening\u2026 this is the cry from the real world, you can see what small businesses are struggling.<\/p>\n \u201cWith four interest rate increases this year, rising energy costs, having to pay the wages, doing all of that red tape and compliance, all we\u2019re asking for is somebody in government to stand up, and recognise it\u2019s a complete double standard.\u201d<\/p>\n Housing Minister Clare O\u2019Neil admitted there was government \u201cconcern\u201d abotu the ATO\u2019s decision.\u00a0Today<\/p>\n The federal government has suffered from mixed messaging in light of Wednesday\u2019s meeting between the ATO and business groups, which the latter claimed was a \u201cwaste of time\u201d due to the ATO refusing to budge.<\/p>\n Speaking to Today, Housing Minister Clare O\u2019Neil admitted she was \u201cconcerned\u201d by the latest decision made by the ATO.<\/p>\n \u201cSmall businesses in this country are really struggling to manage their cash flow\u2026 using a credit card to pay a tax bill is a way a lot of people are managing that issue,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really want the ATO to go back and talk to business about what they\u2019ve decided to do here, and think about how they can find a solution that works for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/7bb18c82a3518184a1cfd7dd3374534fb03b85d6db3664160ef3b479300fc26c.jpeg\")
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