‘Dark corners’: Business owner reveals torment of tax office’s seven-year pursuit
Dan Nolan
A mother of five with no criminal history who was prosecuted harshly by the Australian Tax Office has spoken for the first time about the torment she has suffered.
Julie Clarke, a pseudonym provided by the Supreme Court, was on bail for seven years, at one stage reporting to a police station three times per week.
“We’ve lived under chronic stress and pressure. The torment has permeated through every part of our lives,” she said.
The 57-year-old businesswoman was targeted by the ATO over claiming a tax offset on a therapeutic drug she was developing to treat cancer, obesity and diabetes.
The tax office’s seven-year pursuit of her was brought to a permanent stop by the Brisbane Supreme Court in October with Justice Paul Smith delivering a withering assessment of its conduct.
“The court finds that the conduct of the ATO has brought the administration of justice into disrepute and has the tendency of undermining the integrity of the court,” Justice Smith said.
“In this case, justice has been put at risk.”
He also found “the ATO acted like it was only answerable to itself” which was “all the more worrying” when it provides a public service “and should be a model litigant.”
Clarke had been self-represented for the past four years, achieving a stunning court victory against the odds but at great personal cost.
It was not for my husband and the love of my family, I don’t think I would be here,” Clarke said.
“Many times I had contemplated ending my life because I couldn’t go on. There was no one to help me through this process. No one was listening.”
She said she was prescribed antidepressants by a GP but could not take them as the side effects impacted her ability to represent herself in court.
“The ATO has destroyed all of my companies. We could not afford millions of dollars on legal representation, so I was left to do this on my own,” she said.
Despite the court’s damning findings, the ATO has failed to publicly reveal any measures it has taken to review its practices – even though Justice Smith found “scant regard” was given to the policies that applied to ATO officers, significantly affecting accountability.
Lead investigator Anthony Rains is still an ATO employee despite 11 findings of misconduct by Justice Smith, including that he deliberately altered evidence, prepared a false witness statement and lied in a briefing note to the Queensland Bar.
An ATO spokesperson declined to answer a series of questions about any review being conducted of all cases Rains has worked on, citing an appeal that has been lodged by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
“The ATO will not comment further while the matter is before the courts. The decision to appeal the judgment, including the grounds of appeal, is made by the CDPP,” an ATO spokesperson said.
One of the grounds of appeal is that the judge conducted the proceedings “with an appearance of disqualifying bias”.
Clarke said she was “incredibly disappointed” no immediate action had been taken against Rains.
“There are serious findings against not just Anthony Rains, but others in the prosecution, and they’ve taken no accountability,” she said.
“They do not try to deal with those findings. They’ve just filed an appeal.”
Rains declined to answer questions when confronted by A Current Affair while walking a dog near his home outside Brisbane.
Within hours of that attempted interview, Nine’s legal team received an email titled “Health and Safety Request” from the ATO.
“The ATO has a duty of care to ensure the health and safety of its employees. We hold concerns associated with any reporting which might directly or indirectly identify the residence of either Mr Rains or his family,” the email read.
Clarke said the ATO has never enquired about her health and wellbeing even following October’s disturbing court findings.
An ATO spokesperson declined to answer whether the taxpayer’s welfare had ever been considered during its seven-year pursuit.
“They are misusing the court’s processes to oppress people, and they won’t stop,” Clarke said.
The Tax Ombudsman is expected to hand down its findings soon into another flawed investigation led by Anthony Rains involving businessman Jae Jang, first exposed by A Current Affair in July.
It involved Jang, along with two employees, facing potential jail sentences for criminal charges that were dropped two years later with no evidence to offer.
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie said he believed it was time for the government to stamp out what he called “dark corners” of the ATO.
“I think the government has to stop being hands-off. They need to be hands-on. They need to do a deep dive into the ATO and stamp out these problems and turn it around,” Wilkie said.
“What’s happened to Julie so far could happen to any of us. These people are being bullied in ways that are at odds with any principle of natural justice.”
Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino was unable to respond to questions about what oversight he has ordered into the latest ATO issues.
