Hundreds of Canberrans are being asked to repay tens of thousands of dollars – money they had previously been told they were entitled to. The ACT Revenue Office is reviewing those who were approved for a home stamp duty concession. In many cases the office is demanding they repay the money within weeks.
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00:00Marion's son travelled a long road to live independently.
00:06So he was very well and he had got his ute and a job and now he got the place lined up
00:18and then it was almost too exciting for words like applying for the mortgage because he was an apprentice.
00:25He bought a unit with the help of the ACT Government's stamp duty concession scheme.
00:29After six months, an abrupt change.
00:32He had a complete collapse really of his mental health.
00:36So yeah, that was terrible.
00:39The worst time of my life maybe.
00:42Marion's son had to move into 24-hour supported care.
00:45With a mortgage still to be paid, the family moved a tenant into the unit, unwittingly breaching concession rules.
00:52I have to admit it didn't even cross our minds.
00:55We were in such a state of crisis.
00:58The ACT Revenue Office wrote to Marion's son telling him he owed thousands.
01:03Providing false or misleading information is a serious offence.
01:07It was extremely threatening I would say really.
01:11They use very heavy handed manner that they have and very legalistic their talk.
01:20When Marion discovered the notices, she considered appealing due to her son's situation but feared the escalating daily interest on the debt.
01:28It was very stressful because it's very hard to have to ask people for money out of the blue.
01:37Yeah.
01:38Thomas thought his young family had finally broken into home ownership after years of saving and hoping.
01:44We were asked to leave our rental and it's incredibly difficult to find a rental as well, especially now with a son.
01:49He used an online tool and got legal advice to check his eligibility for a stamp duty discount.
01:55As far as I knew, we were doing everything right.
01:57So, yeah, I didn't even question that, didn't even have the thought that we were doing anything wrong.
02:04Late last year, the revenue office told him they were reviewing his concession and needed sensitive personal details.
02:11They gave us about two weeks to reply to that.
02:14So it was 4th of December.
02:15We went on holidays on the 6th of December overseas.
02:18So it was very difficult to try and get any of that documentation ready.
02:22Soon afterwards, Thomas got a notice to pay back $25,000 within three weeks or face further costs.
02:29It was horrifying and made me angry.
02:31And I mean, I mean, no one has sort of, everyone I've spoken to is confused.
02:37I mean, I'm confused. I still don't understand how they work that out.
02:41The revenue office does allow appeals, but the process can take more than six months.
02:46And during that time, the debts keep increasing.
02:49Do I have to now sell the home, miss, lose all the pay that money?
02:53You know, I wouldn't be able to afford a home again if that happens.
02:57MLA Ed Cox says these stories are not isolated.
03:01The starkest situation was clearly someone who had been trying to escape domestic violence.
03:06People who've spoken with lawyers to try and get their assessment,
03:10people who've done the online assessment tool that the government puts out there,
03:16and they thought that they were eligible.
03:18It doesn't seem very reasonable to be chasing them like criminals
03:22when they've done everything they can to do the right thing.
03:25Mr Cox wants a pause on the reviews.
03:27Today he moved a motion in the Legislative Assembly for a formal inquiry into the whole process.
03:33It was unanimously supported.
03:36The revenue commissioner declined an interview with the ABC,
03:39but in a written response said that
03:41During COVID years compliance activity was scaled down
03:44and staff transferred to deliver community support benefits.
03:47The office confirmed there's been a big increase in case reviews in the past two years,
03:52and that in that period there was a big increase in money recouped from reviews.
03:56I have been really distressed to hear some of the stories about the impact on people.
04:02The finance minister acknowledges that many receiving the notices are frightened.
04:07Then they receive a letter that they don't either understand or it seems like it's quite a threat.
04:13That is really concerning, and so we have been working hard with the revenue office
04:17to have another look at the language that they use in their correspondence.
04:21The minister says under ACT law the office works independently of government
04:25and can't be instructed to change or waive debts,
04:28though some situations can be considered by the ACT treasurer.
04:32This does have to be a balanced approach.
04:34The vast majority of people who receive these reassessments are not eligible for the concession,
04:40and it is pretty clear, and we don't want a system that encourages everybody to request a review of that decision
04:49so that they can simply defer what they legitimately owe to the tax office.
04:54The people caught in the revenue office sites just want answers.
04:57Like, why are you doing this? Like, how do you explain your reasoning behind all this?
05:03They should just behave like human beings and treat people in a genuine manner without acting like we're criminals.