Greater transparency needed on unregistered entities, says Tax Institute
Unregistered entities found to be in breach of the TASA should be included on the Tax Practitioners Board Register, according to the Tax Institute.
The Tax Institute has stressed the importance of ensuring the TPB’s public register is contemporaneous, accurate, and displays relevant information in light of recent changes to the register.
In a recent submission, the Tax Institute said displaying the details of disqualified entities and unregistered entities will assist practitioners in streamlining their onboarding processes and meeting their obligations regarding the use of disqualified entities.
Proposed measures under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Accountability and Fairness) Bill 2023 provide that an entity that is not a registered tax agent or BAS agent must not be entered on or remain on the register maintained by the Tax Practitioners Board, expect in certain circumstances.
Given the new requirements, the Tax Institute said that where an unregistered entity is found by the TPB to be in breach of the TASA, that entity should be included on the register.
“This will provide assurance to members of the public who search the register, particularly if they have been misled to believe that the relevant unregistered entity is registered,” the Association said.
“This improves the overall integrity of the register and provides greater transparency to the public.”
The submission said this also consistent with the objective of the register outlined paragraph 3.5 of the EM and will “improve its quality and usefulness to better assist members of the public.”
“Including such entities on the register will also serve as a deterrent to other unregistered entities from engaging in conduct that would breach the TASA,” it said.
The submission said it is also critical that where details of a sanction are published on the register and that sanction has lapsed or has been otherwise remediated, the register should be updated to reflect this.
“For example, if a sanction is imposed that requires a practitioner to undertake certain actions, once those actions have been completed, the register should be updated to reflect the steps taken by the practitioner to address the issue,” it stated.
Under the measures in the bill, the TPB has the option to publish information about a contravening entity, which, when determined, will require the TPB to publish the relevant details on the register.
“Such information can include detailed reasons for tax practitioner sanctions including terminations. Such information will be displayed on the register for five years from the date of the original decision,” the submission explained.
Paragraph 3.26 of the EM to the draft TPB bill provides that the objective is to provide the TPB with an additional option to ensure the public is aware of an entity’s misconduct, particularly where pursuing other sanctions may not be appropriate.
The Tax Institute said its suggested approach to the publishing of this information would ensure that registered tax and BAS agents are treated more fairly.
“It also ensures that the public have a more fulsome understanding of the issues and how they have been addressed,” the submission said.
“This improves the overall integrity of the register and provides greater assurance to the public.”
This will be particularly important, the Tax Institute said, given the recent proposals to broaden the suite of sanctions available to the TPB in respect of tax practitioner misconduct, including interim and contingent suspensions.
