The Institute of Financial Professionals Australia, in conjunction with accounting and finance bodies representing tax and BAS agents, published an open letter in The Australian Financial Review on 4 September, describing the government’s new rules as “overreach” and pointing to legal advice confirming the rules could force tax agents to share personal information, including their mental health, with their clients.
The letter stated that the rules could also deny a person the right to natural justice by forcing them to publicise investigations against them “no matter how spurious or vexatious”.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones emailed a letter to the joint professional bodies directly last week, agreeing to the roundtable to discuss the concerns raised about the legal obligation to report a client’s false or misleading statement to the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) or the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) without consent.
Tracey Scotchbrook, head of policy and advocacy for the SMSF Association, is expected to attend the roundtable.
Natasha Panagis from the IFPA said the Assistant Treasurer’s letter tried to reassure the joint bodies, including the SMSFA, that personal matters, such as practitioners’ health and wellbeing, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs, fall outside the scope of disclosable matters as they do not relate to a practitioner’s capacity to provide a quality service.
Ainslie van Onselen, Chartered Accountants ANZ (CA ANZ) CEO, said since the determination was tabled in July, CA ANZ had been in regular contact with Jones, expressing members’ concerns and providing alternative wording to the determination.
“When it was suggested our members’ fears were ‘unfounded’, we shared with the Assistant Treasurer legal advice we obtained to validate their concerns,” she said.
“While the profession is being told that guidance from the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) will solve this confusion, our members know this guidance is no replacement for black letter law.”
Chris Freeland, CEO of CPA Australia, said the decision to run the full-page open letter was not taken lightly.
“Our decision to run the open letter underscores our deep concerns with certain aspects of these rules and the impact they will have on our members and the profession more broadly,” Freeland said.
“We are particularly concerned about section 45 of the determination, which requires tax practitioners to disclose to clients ‘any matter’ which may significantly influence a decision of the client to engage the practitioner. In real terms, this may mean sharing irrelevant personal information with clients.
“These rules are causing real concern for professionals who already operate in an environment of significant scrutiny and regulatory burden.”
If today’s discussions between the profession and the Assistant Treasurer’s office cannot determine a suitable path forward, the bodies are asking for all senators to support a disallowance motion in the Senate on 10 September 2024.
