Joint bodies remain concerned about new tax agent obligations

The professional bodies representing Australia’s tax and BAS agents, including the Institute of Financial Professionals Australia (IFPA) , have advised that they met with the Assistant Treasurer’s office and Treasury on Friday 6 September 2024 to discuss their ongoing concerns…

The professional bodies representing Australia’s tax and BAS agents, including the Institute of Financial Professionals Australia (IFPA), have advised that they met with the Assistant Treasurer’s office and Treasury on Friday 6 September 2024 to discuss their ongoing concerns regarding the Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024. The Assistant Treasurer’s office and Treasury acknowledged their concerns with sections 15 and 45 of the Determination and the joint bodies were pleased they are open to making the necessary changes to address them. However, the joint bodies said that there is still considerable work to be done, and further consultation required. The joint bodies made it clear that the proposed amendments will still make our members’ work challenging, and further changes are required to make them clear, practical and fair. In particular, the joint bodies said that sharing details about investigations and the mandatory requirement to ‘dob in’ a client need substantial reworking.

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