Following a referral from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), we conducted an investigation into the conduct of a tax agent which revealed they had breached multiple requirements of the Code of Professional Conduct (Code). They breached Code item 1 when they did not act honestly and with integrity. They also breached 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: 

• lodged multiple annual returns on behalf of self-managed super fund (SMSF) clients prior to audit. In doing so, the tax agent falsely declared to the Commissioner of Taxation that the funds had been properly audited by a qualified auditor when in fact they had not been at the time of lodgement

• lodged a renewal application in which they failed to declare that they had outstanding personal tax obligations

• failed to lodge multiple individual tax returns on time for themself and for their related entities.

The tax agent’s company was also a registered tax agent and investigations revealed the company had also breached Code items 1 and 2. 

Outcome 

The Board Conduct Committee (BCC) considered the serious nature of the tax agent’s conduct and decided to terminate their individual registration and prohibit them from re-applying for registration for a period of two years.  

The BCC also decided to terminate the tax agent’s company registration and to prohibit it from applying for registration for a period of two years.