中文Australian small businesses — printers very much included — just got a stay of execution. Federal treasurer Jim Chalmers has paused, for nine months, a plan by the tax office to stop accepting credit and debit card payments for tax. For businesses that rely on cards to manage tight cash flow, it’s a genuine win. But don’t mistake a delay for a victory.
Here’s the backstory. The Australian Taxation Office had been dug in on its decision to stop taking card payments, and the business community was furious. Then Chalmers overruled his own tax bosses, pushing the ban out to the end of the financial year. His stated reason: give the ATO “more time” to discuss the issue with business and “get it right.” He also promised extra funding for the ATO to offset the lost surcharge revenue, and declared the decision “about putting small business first.”
Why did this blow up so badly? Because for many small businesses, paying tax or super by card isn’t recklessness — it’s a cash-flow lever. When a big customer is slow to pay, a card payment can bridge the gap and keep wages and suppliers covered. Kellie Northwood, CEO of the Visual Media Association, said it bluntly: government “needs to understand cash flow” and stop “transferring costs onto businesses” without weighing the cumulative impact. The VMA stood alongside the Ai Group, the Australian Business Council and others in opposing the move.
The printers Print21 spoke to were clear-eyed. Walter Kuhn, CEO of Queensland printer Kuhn Corp, said paying obligations by card “is far from best practice” — but acknowledged it’s sometimes necessary, especially for smaller shops waiting on a major customer payment. That nuance matters. Nobody is arguing cards are the ideal way to run a business. The argument is about flexibility and timing, not irresponsibility.
There’s a deeper irony the industry flagged. The Reserve Bank banned card surcharges on 1 October, a move expected to save consumers around $1.6 billion a year. But the ATO said it would have to pay about $200 million annually in merchant fees if it kept accepting cards — and refused to absorb that cost. Meanwhile the government told small businesses to swallow the surcharge ban themselves. As Andrew McKellar of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry put it: “There is a clear double standard here.”
For print businesses, the practical takeaways are real. First, the reprieve is temporary. Chalmers hinted the ban in its current form is unlikely to return, but nothing is guaranteed past the financial year. Second, cash-flow planning shouldn’t hinge on a payment method that could vanish. Printers should be lining up alternative buffers — overdraft facilities, invoice finance, tighter debtor management — rather than celebrating and forgetting. Third, this episode is a reminder that industry associations punch above their weight when they show up. The VMA and its allies moved the treasurer. That’s the playbook.
The mood among printers is mixed relief and lingering frustration. Relief that someone listened. Frustration that the debate ever reached this point, with the tax office apparently tone-deaf to an economic environment already battered by rising costs and interest rate hikes. As one leader noted, cash flow “isn’t an abstract accounting issue” when you’re funding wages, paper, substrates, energy and equipment before customers pay.
For now, Australian printers can keep reaching for the card. But the smarter ones will use the nine-month window to build resilience that doesn’t depend on it.
Source: Print21
