Labor wages war on local accountants and bookkeepers
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones has launched a fresh assault on financial services professionals – this time directed at tax practitioners.
Local accountants, bookkeepers and tax agents have been given just weeks to comply with a raft of “unrealistic and unachievable” new obligations.
Starting on 1 August, Jones’ red tape bomb for tax practitioners will subject them to a range of vague, inconsistent and duplicative requirements.
Most concerning is a new requirement to keep current and prospective clients informed about any matter that could significantly influence a decision of a client to engage their services. This requirement is retrospective, with tax practitioners needing to consider matters as far back as 1 July 2022 to determine what needs to be disclosed.
Chartered Accountants ANZ has raised concerns that “any matter can include matters of a private nature like health, religion, sexual orientation, political persuasion or even sporting affiliations to name a few.”
Many of the new obligations were not consulted on before they appeared without notice earlier this month. The regulator, the Tax Practitioners Board, is also yet to issue any guidance.
The new power the Assistant Treasurer has used to unilaterally sign off on the new obligations was part of legislation forced through Parliament late last year by Labor in a deal with the Greens – legislation the Coalition opposed.
Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Financial Services Luke Howarth said rushed and botched overregulation has become the norm under the Albanese Government.
“Labor’s war on financial services professionals must end. After botching long awaited reforms to reduce red tape for financial advisers, the Assistant Treasurer has turned his attention to attacking local accountants, bookkeepers and tax agents.
“During a cost-of-living crisis, this overregulation will be yet another unnecessary cost to be passed on to individual consumers who are already doing it tough. Only a Coalition Government will put a stop to this overregulation which is causing uncertainty and a mountain of additional costs.
“With a start date of 1 August, accountants have been left with little time to prepare and comply with the Assistant Treasurer’s new obligations. At the busiest time of the year for many tax practitioners, they have received a red tape bomb from the Albanese Government.
“Some of these new obligations are far-reaching and potentially impossible for thousands of small tax practitioners to comply with. In his haphazard attempt to address bad behaviour from a few large international accounting firms, the Assistant Treasurer has caused chaos and confusion for the rest of the industry.
“Even if the Albanese Government is hellbent on stacking up more red tape for small businesses, the least it can do is implement regulatory changes fairly and ensure there are no unintended consequences.
“This is yet another rushed process, without consultation and riddled with errors. The Assistant Treasurer needs to start listening to industry from the beginning and consult with his stakeholders.
“The Coalition calls on the Labor Government to urgently withdraw the legislative instrument which makes these changes and conduct further consultation before it considers burdening local accountants and bookkeepers with more red tape.”
Background:
•On 11 July, the Tax Practitioners Board announced a new Ministerial power to expand the obligations in the Code of Professional Conduct (Code) for tax practitioners had been used by Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones to create eight additional obligations to supplement the existing Code.
•The Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024 imposes additional obligations on registered tax and BAS agents (tax practitioners) under the Code in section 30-10 of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA). The additional obligations commence on 1 August 2024.
•Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, CPA Australia, Institute of Public Accountants, The Tax Institute, Australian Bookkeepers Association, Institute of Certified Bookkeepers, Institute of Financial Professionals Australia,
Financial Advice Association of Australia, NTAA PLUS and SMSF Association (collectively the Joint Bodies) wrote to the Assistant Treasurer on 15 July 2024 to express strong concerns about the construct and implications of the provisions of the determination. The Joint Bodies described the commencement date of 1 August 2024 as “unrealistic and unachievable for many tax practitioners”.
•Industry organisations have requested the Minister withdraw the LI as registered, and conduct further targeted consultation on the LI to ensure that the new measures can be fairly implemented and that there are no unintended consequences for tax practitioners or the regulator, the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB).
