Economic News

• A cap on interchange for foreign-issued cards starts on 1 April 2027.

The case concerned the 2015 income year. The Merchant Family Trust sold shares in Billabong at market value to a related self-managed super fund. That sale crystallised a capital loss of about $56 million.

• Public opinion measures preference, not what surcharges cost households.

The Tax Ombudsman's Complaints Insights Report, covering April to September 2026 and dated 27 October, shows 2,376 complaints. That compares with 1,362 in the same period a year earlier, an increase of about 74%.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is often discussed as if it had only one job: setting the cash rate. Its website calendar tells a fuller story. Its remit covers the way money moves when a card is tapped or a bill is paid.

The ATO's rates and thresholds page, updated on 20 May 2026, sets the FBT rate at 47% for the year ending 31 March 2027. That rate has long been aligned with the top marginal tax rate plus theMedicarelevy.

Picture a visitor from abroad buying a coffee in Melbourne, a ferry ticket in Sydney or a souvenir in Cairns. They tap a card issued by a bank in their home country, the terminal beeps and the transaction is done. Behind that simple moment …