Implementation of the Government's response to the Review of the Tax Practitioners Board
The external professional association members1 of the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) Tax Practitioner Governance and Standards Forum2 (TPGSF), collectively the Joint Bodies, make this submission in response to consultation on the Exposure Draft Treasury Laws Amendment (Measures for Consultation) Bill 2022: Tax Practitioners Board Review (the ED). Additional professional association members3 from the TPB Consultative Forum also support the views presented in this submission.
We thank Treasury for the opportunity to discuss the consultation at the TPB Forum on 6 December. This submission provides further details of the Joint Bodies’ response to the changes proposed in the ED.
The complexity and scope of Australia’s tax and superannuation system means that almost all Australian businesses and almost two-thirds of individuals use a tax practitioner to help them with their tax affairs. As at 30 June 2022, there were 45,333 tax agents and 17,007 BAS agents4. Many of these agents employ others. Collectively, they employ tens of thousands more people, to provide tax advice, as well as prepare and lodge the millions of returns and forms required by the ATO each year.
Read the full submision below.
1 The external members are Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, CPA Australia, the Institute of Public Accountants, the Taxation Committee of the Law Council of Australia’s Business Law Section, The Tax Institute, Australian Bookkeepers Association, The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers, Financial Planning Association of Australia, SMSF Association and the Corporate Tax Association.
2 The TPGSF was established pursuant to Recommendation 3.3 of the Final Report of the 2019 Review of the Tax Practitioners Board (the Review) to ensure that any significant proposals affecting tax practitioners, such as relevant legislation and regulations including the Code of Professional Conduct (the Code) in the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA), are made with appropriate consultation. See Tax Practitioners Board, Tax Practitioner Governance and Standards Forum Charter, 2021 .
3 Additional signatories from the Consultative Forum are National Tax Agents’ Association Ltd (NTAA Plus), Institute of Financial Professionals Australia, ACCA and ICAEW.
4 Tax Practitioners Board, About the Tax Practitioners Board, Annual Report 2021-22, 2022.
Last Updated on 25/10/2024