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CPA Australia is calling on the federal government to boost funding for the Tax Practitioners Board, fearing reputational issues for the tax profession if the regulator remains short on resources.
CPA fears bad consumer outcomes as TPB’s budgets struggle
07 February 2018
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6 minute read
In its pre-budget submission, CPA Australia said it’s important the TPB receive ongoing increase in their funding to manage its expanding role, including monitoring “questionable” behaviour as suggested by the Black Economy Taskforce.
The TPB told Accountants Daily last year it continues to struggle with its expanded portfolio, particularly the registration of tax (financial) advisers, and inadequate budgets.
CPA Australia said: “The responsibilities of the TPB and the number of entities it regulates has grown substantially in recent years — yet funding for its operations has not.
“CPA Australia is concerned about whether it can remain as such, which may in turn have other negative consequences for consumers.
“For example, it may impact community trust in both the tax and accounting profession and the tax system more broadly given the key role the tax and accounting profession plays in the community’s compliance with tax laws in a tax system that is based on voluntary compliance.”
The association is not advocating introducing a user-pays or cost-recovery model of funding.
CPA Australia believes the TPB is currently an effective regulator despite funding constraints, an assessment backed by the TPB’s performance against its expected service standards.
However, accountants in public practice have recently raised concerns to Accountants Daily about a spike in unregistered tax agent behaviour, particularly with the provision of unregistered tax advice by car dealerships. You can read more about this here.
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