Other services provided in relation to State or Territory tax laws can generally include lodgement and advisory services. Some examples are payroll tax, stamp duty and levies. Each State or Territory has taxation legislation which is administered by its revenue authority that is responsible for the collection of these taxes.

You should always ensure that the provision of other services is lawful under the relevant State or Territory laws.

When providing other services to clients, you should exercise sound professional judgement, take reasonable care and ensure that you have requisite training, competence and experience to support your clients’ needs. For example, there may be flow-on impacts for a client’s income tax obligations if your payroll tax services are not delivered competently.

You may be generally guided by the legal and ethical standards in the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA) in addressing other services. Whilst TASA requirements are not specifically legally binding when you are providing advice on the application of State or Territory revenue laws, various underlying principles remain valid, including: 

• observing confidentiality of information relating to a client’s affairs 
• managing conflicts of interest
• acting lawfully in your client’s best interest 
• exercising reasonable care 
• ensuring appropriate supervision and control of services are being provided on your behalf. 

If you are a member of a TPB recognised professional association, there may be other professional standards and obligations required by the association that may apply to the provision of your services.

In addition, you should be aware that if your work in relation to State or Territory tax laws constitutes legal services, it will be governed by State or Territory legal profession legislation and regulated by a law society. Generally, legal work can only be done by an Australian legal practitioner in accordance with the relevant legal professional legislation in the applicable jurisdiction. 

Tax practitioners who provide other services relating to State or Territory tax laws to clients and who act legally and professionally, will be better placed to respond to any concerns or complaints that may arise (for example, complaints involving contract or tortious claims, applications for compensation and claims made against professional indemnity insurance). 

Yes. Where you have engaged in misconduct involving other services relating to State or Territory tax laws, this may affect your ongoing eligibility for TPB registration under the TASA. For example, there may be consequences in scenarios where you have:

• failed to act honestly and with integrity in the provision of your services, as this may be a breach of Code Item 1 of the Code of Professional Conduct (the Code)
• failed to account for money or other property received on trust from or on behalf of your client (for example, for the payment of stamp duty), as this may be a breach of Code Item 3 of the Code
• breached State or Territory laws, as this may impact on your fitness and propriety to be a registered tax practitioner. 

You must remain a fit and proper person to maintain your TPB registration. This includes consideration of your ‘good fame, integrity and character’ as well as issues about solvency (for example, bankruptcy) and relevant criminal prosecutions. 

If you are engaging in other services and you are reasonably aware of potential misconduct with the State or Territory tax laws, you should have regard to and make sure to comply with the reporting requirements under the TASA. 

You should also seek to clarify any other professional or regulatory requirements for the provision of other services relating to State or Territory tax laws with respective regulators, revenue authorities or relevant professional association.