Yesterday the joint professional bodies lodged a submission on the latest proposed changes to the TASA Code of Professional Conduct. The Institute of Financial Professionals Australia was a co-signatory.
The joint submission sets the record straight about the s15 requirement to dob in clients who refuse to rectify a false or misleading statement. Although threshold for reporting such events has been raised considerably, we remain concerned that the requirement will break down the trust that exists between tax practitioners and their clients. Our strong preference would be to ditch this provision altogether, although the government has been steadfast about its retention.
The submission touches on our remaining concerns about a number of specific provisions, including the need to maintain confidentiality in working for the government, clarification of the “substantial harm” precondition for reporting a client and excessive red tape.