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In a recent ABN Bookkeeper Radio episode, The Tax Institute's Robyn Jacobson raised concerns for agents as they grapple with changes to the Tax Agent Services Act 2009) (TASA) and legislated and proposed new powers for the Tax Practitioners Board (TP
Recent legislative changes to the TASA and proposals to beef up the TPB’s powers have been the focus of a recent Australian Bookkeepers Network (ABN) – Bookkeeper Radio discussion with The Tax Institute’s Senior Advocate, Robyn Jacobson, who called for further consultation on some of the new rules.
Joining ABN Directors, Kevlin Deer and Peter Thorp, Robyn cast an eye over the new law and addressed concerns about the breach reporting rules, or what the industry calls the ‘dob-in rules’.
‘Dob-in rules’ could be difficult to administer
As part of changes to the TASA, a BAS/Tax agent must notify the TPB in writing if the agent has reasonable grounds to believe that they or another agent has breached the Code of Professional Conduct, and that the breach is a significant breach.
“Some of these obligations can be difficult to administer in practice,” said Robyn. “It is getting into such grey territory”. Robyn says that the meaning of relevant terms such as ‘significant breach’, 'material loss or damage’ and ‘is otherwise significant’ are yet to be clearly defined and further guidance is needed from the TPB.
“[As noted in the Independent Review of the Tax Practitioners Board (2019) (James Review)], it is not appropriate for tax practitioners to be upholding the integrity of the tax system,” said Robyn. “This is really the responsibility of the regulators.”
Concerns about the new Code obligations
Further concern was raised about new obligations under a draft Ministerial determination which will supplement the existing Code. A range of additional obligations will require agents to keep proper (i.e. ‘complete and accurate’) records that relate to the tax agent services being provided to each current and former client; to ensure tax agent services provided on their behalf are provided competently; to ensure that adequate internal control processes are maintained; and to keep all current and prospective clients informed of all relevant matters.
This could be confusing for agents to understand and onerous to achieve. Again, further guidance is needed so practitioners can clearly understand what is expected of them. Also, the scope of the proposed determination must have regard to practical considerations and how compliance with the new obligations would be measured and enforced.
New obligations relating to the making of false and misleading statements by registered agents are proposed. This would mean a further set of provisions to supplement existing legislation that already covers the making of false or misleading statements to the Commissioner.
“Our overarching concern is duplication of penalties,” said Robyn. “The question is whether this is an unnecessary duplication [and] does it create confusion?”
TPB can use new obligations to advocate for BAS agents and tax agents to small business clients
ABN Director, Peter Thorp, saw an opportunity for the TPB to engage more in educating the business community with the expansion of its scope of responsibility in these new obligations to “support public trust and confidence in the integrity of the tax profession”.
“I hope the TPB will now work to raise additional awareness of why the community needs to rely on registered BAS and tax agents,” said Peter. “People need to be aware of the complex moving parts of being a registered professional and the importance of working with one.”
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