Ms Payne said some complainants would not have had their eligibility reconsidered if it were not for the IGTO's complaint investigation and that "it is likely that there are many other affected taxpayers" who could be eligible.
Ms Payne said small businesses would have also benefited from an "independent review" of ATO decisions. "If we had better unfettered access to ATO records, maybe these issues could be resolved more quickly," Ms Payne said. Ms Payne's report gives the following example of why the ATO's decision turned out to be wrong. It centres on what actually incorporates someone running a business:From August 2019 to December 2019 the company applied for the required council approvals to operate as a café and spent considerable funds fitting out the café premises.
The ATO decided that the taxpayer was ineligible for the [business cashflow boost] payment on the following grounds: Ms Payne told ABC News: "The issue is that when you read the letter it suggests that you would have had to make a sale before December 31 and reported to the [Tax] Commissioner to be eligible."That's an eligible taxable supply that counts to show that you were carrying on an enterprise before December 31. It includes all the activities you do before you open your doors to carry out a business.