perpetrators are exploiting the tax system to saddle their victims with tens of thousands of dollars in unjust debts, sparking a call for the federal government to close the loopholes that are allowing the abuse.
Under current Australian tax law, the victim is required to repay the debt regardless of whether it is rightfully theirs. Intimate partner violence-related financial abuse has been inflicted on 2.4 million Australians, the vast majority of whom are women, and costs the economy nearly $11 billion a year.
"If Australia is serious about tackling this insidious problem, we must urgently modernise the tax system to identify and support victim-survivors – rather than inadvertently being complicit in enabling and exacerbating the abusive tactics of perpetrators," she said.