A whistleblower who exposed excessive debt collection tactics within the Australian Tax Office has faced court in Adelaide.
Richard David Boyle, 43, is charged with 66 offences including using a listening device to monitor a private conversation, recording another person's tax file number and disclosing protected information.
Boyle took part in a joint ABC-Fairfax 2018 investigation to reveal ATO staff had been instructed to use harsher debt collection tactics on indebted individuals and small businesses.
Those tactics included the use of orders that require a bank to hand over money from a personal or business account without the permission of the taxpayer.
Boyle's home was raided by the ATO and Australian Federal Police in April last year when his mobile phone and documents were seized.
His court appearance comes after a parliamentary inquiry reviewed the ATO's 2016/17 annual report and laid out 37 recommendations when it was tabled last month.
Among those were a revised ATO charter and a second commissioner who would focus solely on tax dispute processes.
"The recommendations made in this report intend to adjust the imbalance of power perceived by taxpayers in their engagement with the ATO," chairman MP Jason Falinski said.
Boyle made no comment after his hearing, and his case will return to court later this month.
Australian Associated Press
