A court has revealed why a whistleblower who revealed intimidation tactics by the tax office will face a criminal trial for speaking out.
The man who blew the whistle on “intimidating” debt collection tactics by the Australian Taxation Office is not protected from criminal action because he failed to disclose crucial evidence at the right time, a court has ruled.
On Monday, South Australian District Court judge Liesl Kudelka told ATO whistleblower Richard Boyle he would be facing a criminal trial in October after dismissing civil action to have criminal charges thrown out.
However, the reasons behind her decision were suppressed until Thursday morning, upon request of commonwealth prosecutors.
The suppression on Judge Kudelka’s judgment reasons was partially lifted in court on Thursday, leaving all but several paragraphs publicly accessible.
Mr Boyle, a former ATO debt collector, had his Edwardstown home raided in April 2018 after expressing concerns about practices in the Australian Taxation Office, and telling ABC’s Four Corners staff in Adelaide had been instructed to “start issuing standard garnishees on every case.”
A garnishee notice is used by the ATO to deduct money from a third party who owes money or is holding money for a debtor, like an employer or super fund, to recover owed money.
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