ATO is paying private debt collector $42m to pursue taxpayers, including welfare recipients

The tax office's increased reliance on Recoveriescorp has coincided with a spike in complaints to the watchdog

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The Australian Taxation Office has awarded the private debt collector Recoveriescorp more than $42m in contracts as part of a hard-edged campaign to pursue some taxpayers, including welfare recipients.

The size of the contracts, published on the government's tender portal, shows how much the ATO has come to rely on the third-party collector in recent years, which has coincided with a spike in complaints to the watchdog.