Anthony Albanese accused of lying after predicting coffee shop prices may fall due to card surcharge ban
The Prime Minister’s claim a card surcharge ban could lower the price of a cup of coffee is a lie, Liberal leader Angus Taylor says.
Liberal leader Angus Taylor accused Anthony Albanese of lying after the Prime Minister posted a video on social media boasting that a ban on credit and debit card surcharges would save you money “every time you tap” and claimed “from tomorrow, your morning coffee could be cheaper.”
Under a rule that began this week, businesses weren’t allowed to charge customers extra for paying by card.
With interest rates rising and inflation still high, the government is desperate to come up with positive news for consumers.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.In response to the promotional video about the surcharge ban by the Prime Minister, Mr Taylor said businesses would have to cover the bank charges anyway, which meant that prices would not fall.
“Lies,” Mr Taylor said in response to Mr Albanese’s post on X. “Simply shifting costs around the economy doesn’t make families better off.”
Compounding the problem for businesses, the tax office said it would no longer accept payments by credit card.
The Coalition and One Nation immediately called for the decision to be reversed, arguing it was unfair on small operators who often relied on credit to keep their businesses operating.
“Small businesses use credit cards to manage cash flow,” One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said. “Taking away that option makes it harder to keep their businesses running.”
Mr Taylor said: “You couldn’t make it up.”
“While small businesses are being told to absorb the cost of accepting credit cards, his own Tax Office has decided it won’t,” he wrote on social media. “Instead, the ATO will simply stop accepting credit cards altogether.”
Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume accused the government of “imposing unnecessary costs” on small businesses. Sydney MP Allegra Spender also opposed the change.
Presenting the change as help for people under financial pressure, Mr Albanese said card surcharges cost shoppers $1.6 billion a year.
“From today they’re banned, saving you money every time you tap,” he said in a post on Thursday, the day the new system began.
The tax office, which is covered by the ban on charging extra for payments made by cards, acknowledged it would have been required to cover the cost of those transactions, a cost that would ultimately be born by taxpayers.
“As a government agency, the ATO has decided it would not be appropriate for the cost of credit card merchant fees to be transferred to the community,” it said in the statement announcing the policy change.
The government estimates 2.3 per cent of tax payments were made by credit card in 2024–25, although the figure is likely skewed by large corporations that pay their taxes using cash transfers.
