Accountants have flagged they may sue the Australian Tax Office over a computer glitch holding up the processing of refunds.
The ATO’s new computer system swung into action in January, but problems with it have led to long delays processing about one million tax assessments.
Head of accountancy referral service accountantsRus, Adrian Raftery, said tax agents could seek compensation for the glitch, which had cost them time and money.
“In the past four months, accountants have spent a considerable amount of non-chargeable time, had their goodwill and reputation damaged, increased stationery costs and experienced their own cash flow issues whilst waiting for payment for services,” he said in a statement on Saturday.
Mr Raftery said some taxpayers had even lodged complaints against their agents, believing they had pocketed refunds for themselves instead of passing them on to clients.
“There is no doubt that accountants will unfairly experience a churning of clients next year due to these dramas,” he said.
Independent senator Nick Xenophon on Wednesday called for an independent inquiry into the ATO’s computer system problems.