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A look back into some of the top headlines in accounting news this year with a recap of Accountants Daily’s top 10 stories.
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The top Accountants Daily stories for 2024 revealed
31 December 2024
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9 minute read
This year was another big year for the accounting profession, with further crackdowns from the ATO and state revenue offices and the completion of the inquiry into the big four accounting and consulting firms. We take a look back on some of the biggest stories throughout the year.
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1. Millions of landlords the target of expanded ATO crackdown
The ATO launched a crackdown on the tax affairs of millions of landlords, targeting those who falsely claimed rental deductions and minimised their capital gains liability by inflating costs. The Tax Office revealed it had planned to expand its data matching program, forcing property management software companies to cough up, up to 2.3 million user records from 2018 to 2025–26. The data would be used to trigger compliance activities, improve risk models and educate taxpayers.
2. Tax agent and client hit with 5-year sentences for ‘cheating tax system’
A former tax agent and client were sentenced to a combined 10 years and six months in prison for refund fraud and income tax avoidance. Banned tax agent Ravindra Narayan and business owner Duane Saltmer dishonestly gained a financial advantage of over $4 million through fraudulently claiming tax refunds and internationally avoiding income tax. The pair were found to have dishonestly taken advantage of the Australian tax system and were found guilty under section 134.2 of the Criminal Code.
3. ‘Like a war zone’: Deloitte responds to claims about ‘dark and aggressive culture’
The big four firm was accused by former staff of having created an environment of extreme overwork and pressure, which it denied. Deloitte appeared before the Senate inquiry into consulting services and rejected the reports made by former staff who claimed the firm had cultivated a “dark culture” and aggressively pursued government contacts. Senator Barbara Pocock revealed she had spoken to previous Deloitte partners, directors, juniors and contractors who shared serious concerns about the firm.
4. ATO issues ‘last warning’ on overdue TPARs
From 22 March, the Tax Office began applying failure to lodge penalties for those with an overdue taxable payments annual report. Before the penalties were applied, the ATO urged tax professionals to check if their clients needed to lodge a taxable payments annual report (TPAR). Tax professionals were reminded they could check if their clients needed to lodge a TPAR by using the reported transactions service in Online Services for agents.
5. Big 4 partners, directors jump ship as mid-tier demand surges
In April 2024, a flurry of appointment activity led to partners and directors from EY and Deloitte moving on to BDO and RSM to meet the surging demand from the middle market. BDO added three partners from EY and Deloitte while RSM appointed an EY director as partner. BDO welcomed the appointments of Paul Tuckey, Vijyata Kirpalani and Rajnil Kumar while RSM welcomed Michael George.
6. Accountant’s $340k BAS refund claim crumbles
The AAT struck down an appeal made by an accountant who was fined $136,000 for claiming a $340,000 GST refund on a sham asset sale between his companies. The tribunal upheld the ATO’s decision to deny Anthony Guy’s input tax credit claim on an asset sale where there was no evidence of a legitimate transaction between the companies, Ecosse Group Holdings and Siltstone. Guy was told that based on his career, he would have knowledge about GST workings and should have known the ATO would not allow such a claim.
7. Victorian government swoops on vacant properties in tax crackdown
Over 300 assessments were issued for vacant residential land tax during a compliance investigation by the Victorian government. The investigation uncovered 177 empty properties which resulted in 337 vacant residential land tax assessments, which covered the land tax years from 2019 to 2024. The properties that were discovered vacant were found as the investigation targeted five apartment block buildings which found the properties were vacant for more than six months, therefore liable for vacant residential land tax.
8. ATO reveals common rental property errors from data-matching program
Results from a data-matching program identified issues around the reporting of rental income and claims for capital works and depreciating assets. The ATO extended the property management data-matching protocol for 2025–26 as results from the program identified some of the common errors that were being made. The objective of the program was to identify and educate individuals and businesses that may have been failing to meet their registration or lodgement applications.
9. ATO to sool debt collector on 150,000 taxpayers
Recoveriescorp was engaged by the Tax office in its first use of a collection agency since the pandemic. The Tax Office referred up to 150,000 taxpayers to a debt collection agency in June in a swift action to recover millions owned by people with the capacity to pay. Before the ATO began the use of the external debt agent, it told taxpayers with an outstanding income, activity or super amounts, to expect contact from Recoveriescorp, verified with a phone call.
10. Accountants cautioned on ‘unexpected tax consequences’ with Division 7A loans
The ATO reminded tax professionals about the critical requirements for correctly managing Division 7A loans for their clients. Tax professionals and taxpayers were warned that failing to correctly manage the requirements of Division 7A loans could result in unexpected tax consequences in an ATO update. To avoid unexpected tax consequences, the ATO said that all payments and loans that had not been repaid should have been placed on a complying Division 7A loan.
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