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Joint bodies have welcomed a commitment from Labor to address the major issues in the TASA determination in the Senate this week.
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‘Significant progress’ made on TASA determination, joint bodies say
12 September 2024
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Professional bodies including Chartered Accountants ANZ, CPA Australia, the SMSF Association, and the Institute of Financial Professionals of Australia are hopeful the government will continue to work constructively with them to achieve a positive outcome for tax practitioners regarding the Tax Agent Services Determination.
Speaking in the Senate on Tuesday, Labor senator Anthony Chisholm said the government was committed to making further changes to the tax determination on which it intended to publicly consult and finalise by early October.
Chisholm said the government would align the obligations in section 15, the ‘dob in’ provision, with principles from the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board Code of Ethics.
It will also look to reduce the number of items relating to disclosure in section 45 and remove duplicated items that are already covered in other areas of law.
Tracey Scotchbrook, head of policy and advocacy for the SMSF Association, told sister brand SMSF Adviser the commitment made by the government provides an opportunity for the accounting industry “to continue that dialogue, to strike the right balance and achieve the right outcomes.”
CPA Australia said significant progress has been made in efforts to secure amendments to the determination, which is a step in the right direction.
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“Our meetings with the Assistant Treasurer and Treasury have been very constructive and many of our concerns are being addressed, including sections of the Determination requiring tax agents to ‘dob in’ their clients and to advise clients of irrelevant personal information,” CPA said.
“We thank the Assistant Treasurer’s staff and Treasury representatives for listening to the joint bodies’ reasonable concerns and acknowledging that our suggested changes were aligned with the intent of the government’s reforms.”
Natasha Panagis, head of superannuation and financial services for the Institute of Financial Professionals Australia, said section 45, the disclosure provision, is now being drafted in a prescriptive style, making it clear that the private and personal characteristics of tax practitioners are not disclosable.
“Section 15, the ‘dob-in’ requirement for false or misleading statements (where a client refuses to correct such a statement) will be redrafted to replicate the much higher threshold set under the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board Code of Ethics (APES), which already applies to many tax practitioners,” she said.
An amended legislative instrument will be issued soon, followed by further guidance material from the TPB and a public consultation process.
“We will continue to engage in the process and look for ways of assisting members manage the impact on their practices of the new Code of Professional Conduct changes that come into effect on 1 July 2025,” Panagis said.
Assistant Treasurer ‘could backflip’ on promised changes, warns Howarth
Shadow assistant treasurer Luke Howarth said despite the government agreeing that the determination needs changes, action is yet to be seen.
“It remains to be seen whether the Assistant Treasurer will deliver on these piecemeal changes or backflip yet again,” he said.
“With these embarrassing, last minute concessions it is now another deal with the Greens that has blown up in the Government’s face.”
According to Howarth, Minister Stephen Jones began consulting directly with industry stakeholders “just hours” before it was set to be disallowed, despite the law being made nine weeks prior.
The Coalition believes the block of the disallowance to be a desperate attempt to salvage the regulations after Minister Jones had repeatedly told tax practitioners their serious concerns were “unfounded.”
Howarth said the Coalition would “unwind this attack” from the government and believes “it’s too little, too late.”
“The government’s approach to consultation, communication and stakeholder management on these regulations has been bizarre and disrespectful,” Howarth said.
“This is bad government and the grassroots advocacy campaign from local tax practitioners has been effective and should not stop.”
Howarth said the Coalition is expecting swift productivity towards these changes following the distress the government has caused the accounting profession.
“These small and family businesses are some of the most trusted members of our community and they should be treated with respect,” Howarth said.
“The Albanese government has left them distraught and wondering whether they should stay in the profession.”
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