Tax agents banned for dishonest actions
The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) has terminated the registration of two tax agents after a referral from the Australian Taxation Officer (ATO) found they had “acted dishonestly” and falsely submitted self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) audits.
The agents falsely stated audits had been completed, with one lodging over 90 SMSF annual returns for more than 20 clients, falsifying auditor details and misleading clients by confirming their SMSFs had been audited and charging them when it hadn’t been.
The agents have been banned from practicing in the profession because they do not meet the tax practitioner registration requirement of being “a fit and proper person”.
“The SMSF annual audit is a critical integrity check to ensure the validity and accuracy of an SMSF’s financial statements and its compliance with superannuation legislation and regulations,” Justin Micale, Assistant Commissioner of the ATO’s SMSF Regulatory Branch, said.
“The TPB decisions follow referral of intelligence from ATO compliance activity where we have worked with SMSF auditors to identify where their auditor numbers are being deliberately misused.”
The ATO will also continue to work alongside auditors to identify misuse of SMSF auditor numbers (SANs) and refer cases to the TPB to consider further disciplinary action.
“Our decisions reiterate the importance of the relationship between the TPB and the ATO in ensuring that tax practitioners maintain a strong level of integrity in their lodgement activities,” TPB Chair, Ian Klug AM, said.
“Registered tax practitioners are in a privileged position of trust, and it is essential that they ensure their actions uphold the integrity of the tax and superannuation systems.”
No names? Bit different than for financial advisers.