After being referred to us by the Australia Taxation Office (ATO), a tax agent has had their registration terminated on the grounds that they were not a fit and proper person to be registered as a tax agent. Our investigations revealed the tax agent breached multiple provisions of the Code of Professional Conduct, including:

• Code item 1 when they did not act honestly and with integrity in their capacity as a director and sole supervising agent of a company.

• Code item 2 when they did not comply with the taxation laws in the conduct of their personal affairs.

The tax agent was found to have:

• Caused their company to lodge a Business Activity Statement (BAS) which included inflated payments for wages to obtain a Cash Flow Boost payment, in circumstances where they knew or ought to have known the company was not entitled to it.

• Lodged an amended BAS on behalf of their company which reduced the salary and wages declared by over $100,000.

• Reduced the pay as you go (PAYG) withholding amount declared by over $50,000, requiring the ATO to amend the BAS to reflect the correct amounts.

This case was considered with a submission regarding the conduct of a company, of which the tax agent was the sole director and sole supervising agent. The company was found to have breached code items 1 and 2, and the Board Conduct Committee (BCC) found its director was no longer a fit and proper person for the reasons above.

Outcome

The BCC considered the serious nature of the tax agent’s conduct and the tax agent’s lack of acknowledgement and remorse for their behaviour. Based on these factors, the BCC decided to terminate the tax agent’s registration. It was also decided that the agent should be prohibited from re-applying for registration for a period of three months. 

The BCC also determined that the company had ceased to meet a registration requirement, as its sole director had ceased to be a fit and proper person. Therefore, the BCC decided to terminate the company’s registration as a tax agent.

In making its decisions, the BCC noted that the Tax Practitioners Board’s role is to ensure consumer protection and that it has an objective to protect and maintain the integrity of the registered tax practitioner profession.