A tax agent was investigated for alleged dishonest behaviour. The tax agent lodged a form with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to change their company director details without the signature of one of the directors. It was alleged they did this to prevent themselves from having any liability following an Australian Taxation Office (ATO) audit into the company. 

In addition, the tax agent failed to:

• disclose information to a liquidator for a company they were previously a director of

• comply with their personal taxation obligations and those of companies they were the director of

• disclose relevant information about their obligations to the Board in multiple annual declarations and an application for renewal of registration

• comply with an order from the Board.

The investigation found the tax agent had breached the following Code of Professional Conduct (Code) items:

• Code item 1 when they failed to act with honesty and integrity

• Code item 2 when they did not comply with their personal tax obligations.  

The tax agent’s registration was terminated and a five-year exclusion period on re-applying was imposed.