TPB bans tax agent in fraud crackdown

The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB), Australia’s chief regulator and registrar of tax professionals, has imposed a five-year ban on a Sydney tax agent after he was alleged to have defrauded government tax systems.

The TPB announced it had terminated Raheel Chaudhry’s registration as a tax agent, supported by the cross-governmental Fraud Fusion Taskforce (FFT), of which it is part.

According to the regulator, the former tax agent racked up a tax debt, including penalties, of nearly $1.5 million.

Chaudhry, trading as RMC Plan Managers, a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) registered organisation, assumed the title of ‘plan manager’ over the previous eight years, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The TPB, in its decision to ban the former tax agent, cited Chaudhry’s failure to comply with his own tax obligations and his misleading of the regulator.

The regulator also took into consideration the “significant evidence” gathered by the NDIS Commission, which in September 2024 announced it had banned Chaudhry from delivering NDIS Services for five years.

TPB chair Peter de Cure declared that Chaudhry’s actions had “undermined the integrity of the tax system as well as public confidence in the registered tax practitioner profession”.

“Tax agents hold a trusted professional position and are expected to act with the utmost honesty and integrity,” de Cure added.

He further hailed the collaborative efforts of the FFT in rooting out tax fraud and fraudsters, and in enhancing the overall integrity of the sector.

“This case shows the benefits of government agencies working across the system to stamp out illegal behaviour.

“We will continue to work with our FFT partners to swiftly remove any tax practitioners who engage in such behaviours in the interests of improving [the] integrity of government systems.”