The coalition will stop Labor’s attacks on local accountants and bookkeepers

The Coalition will seek to disallow the Albanese Labor Government’s latest move to burden tax practitioners with unnecessary and unrealistic red tape.

The new obligations are far-reaching, poorly drafted and potentially impossible for thousands of small tax practitioners to comply with.

This will drive up costs for Australians and small businesses who rely on and trust tax professionals to help manage their financial affairs.

These clients are individuals and small businesses like young professionals, retirees and tradies – the impacts could span millions of Australians, during a cost-of-living crisis.

Labor’s obsession with piling on red tape creates a compliance burden that is ultimately passed on through additional costs to clients.

These impacts are why adequate consultation, good communication and quantification of regulatory impact are so important. The Albanese Government has failed all three tests with this chaotic process and left thousands of local accountants and bookkeepers reeling.

Labor’s “Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024” is beset with a barrage of problems:

•Minimal or no consultation.

•Unrealistic commencement timeframes and no regulator guidance.

•Retrospectivity, with a requirement to consider matters as far back as 1 July 2022.

•A disproportionate impact on small practices and sole practitioners.

•A new requirement to report to clients on any matter that could significantly influence a decision of a client to engage with them, which could include health and mental health issues.

•A new requirement to report to clients about ongoing investigations before there has been an outcome.
• Inconsistent obligations, including a duty to ‘dob in’ clients despite an existing obligation not to disclose confidential client information without the client’s permission.

This disastrous process is a sign of things to come under a Labor-Greens minority government. The Assistant Treasurer’s promises to back financial services professionals fell apart as soon as he cut a deal with the Greens to legislate Labor’s broken promise to raise taxes from franking credits.
Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said only a Coalition Government will put an end to Labor’s war on financial services professionals.

“A strong economy with thriving small businesses, informed consumers, higher home ownership, and better retirement outcomes require strong advice networks. Yet Labor is layering red tape upon red tape on finance professionals that just drive up costs for consumers. “This isn’t the right approach in a cost-of-living and cost-of-doing-business crisis. Local accountants and bookkeepers have been blindsided by this new red tape yet Labor has refused to listen to community feedback.

“Australian families and small businesses are paying the price of Labor’s failure to manage the economy and failure to listen.”
Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Financial Services Luke Howarth said these attacks from the Assistant Treasurer are nothing new.

“Rushed and botched regulation with a lack of meaningful consultation has come to be expected from this Government.