THE Small Business Development Corporation has warned small business owners, bookkeepers and tax consultants to familiarise themselves with new registration requirements of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009, which came into effect on March 1.
The new framework replaces six state-based tax agents’ boards with a single, national tax practitioners’ board and requires bookkeepers, other than employees, who prepare business activity statements, to be registered as BAS agents.
SBDC acting managing director Jacky Finlayson said that, under the old laws, anyone who provided tax advice for a fee was required to register as a tax agent
“Under the new regulations other specialists such as research and development consultants who provide a range of tax agent services will also be required to obtain conditional registration,” she said.
The new regime also provides a code of professional conduct to ensure agents maintain high standards of honesty, integrity and competence in the tax services they deliver.
Tax Practitioners Board chair Dale Boucher said the new tax agent services regime had brought about changes that strengthened and improved the tax system.
“The regime also implements a new code of professional conduct, which allows the board greater power to sanction breaches of the code,” he said. “New safe harbour provisions, administered by the tax office, provide taxpayers who engage a registered tax agent or BAS agent with greater protection.
“In some circumstances, penalties may no longer apply to taxpayers whose agents do not take proper care.”
Businesses that provided BAS services for a fee on or before March 1 this year have six months to notify the board of their intentions to register.
