Former ATO officer Richard Boyle will stand trial before a jury
in the District Court of South Australia on 66 charges –
which carry a total maximum penality of 161 years behind bars
– for exposing the
tax office misappropriating taxpayers' funds from their
bank accounts without notice.
Boyle stands beside others in this country who have blown the
whistle on corrupt activities in the public interest and have
suffered the wrath of authorities as a consequence.
David McBride will stand trial over the leaking of the Afghan
Files. And then there's the case of
Witness K.
The
culture at the ATO that Mr Boyle exposed was one where the
drive to collect revenue was so intense that management was
prepared to use debt collecting tactics of last resort across the
board on all cases, so as to garnish enough funds before the end of
financial year.
