In-house tax advisers and the new tax agent regime

The press has recently carried reports of concerns among in-house tax advisers about how the provisions of the new Tax Agent Services Regime might affect them. The new Tax Practitioners Board has been looking at this issue. It said suggestions had been made that there may be an anomaly in the case of a wholly ...more

Tax and BAS agents must have Professional Indemnity insurance from 1 July 2011

Dale Boucher, Chair of the Tax Practitioners Board, has announced that from 1 July 2011, registered BAS and tax agents will need to have professional indemnity (PI) insurance coverage.
Mr Boucher said that, while the Board had yet to undertake detailed research and consultations with stakeholders, the overall case for setting an insurance requirement was clear. ...more

Government and ATO release updates on crackdown on tax crime

The Assistant Treasurer has updated the Government’s action to date on fighting tax crime. Among other things, he noted that:

as at 31 December 2009, tax collections themselves from Wickenby were $160.08m;
as at 31 December 2009, Wickenby had also raised $532.79m in tax liabilities;
as at 31 December 2009, tax collections in subsequent years from people subject ...more

New tax agent services legislation commenced on Monday 1 March

The Tax Agent Services Act 2009 which implements the new national Tax Agent Services regime commenced on Monday 1 March 2010. The Tax Practitioners Board Chairman, Mr Dale Boucher, reminded tax practitioners of the following transitional arrangements for tax agents:

For those who are currently registered as a tax agent, their registration will continue under the ...more

Should accountants be able to give broad advice about super?

Currently, under the Corporations Law, accountants are not required to be licensed under the financial services regime (ie they do not need an Australian financial services licence – AFSL) where they advise on the establishment, structure or operations of a super fund, including making recommendations that a person acquire or dispose of a self-managed super ...more

There once was a tax review…

As tax practitioners will know, there have been several tax reviews in Australia over the years – Asprey, and the Ralph Review to name but 2. And we’ve had several animal and insect tax reviews – such as ANTS (the A New Tax System measures) and RATS (Reform of the Australian Tax System)! A very ...more

Treasurer releases 2010 Intergenerational Report

On 1 February 2010, the Treasurer released an updated 2010 Intergenerational Report (IGR) highlighting the challenges over the next 40 years, including an ageing population, and mounting pressures on the health system. The report entitled, “Australia to 2050: Future Challenges”, is available on the Treasury Website.
Population and demographic changes
The report projects that Australia’s total population ...more

Approved superannuation clearing house established

The Tax Laws Amendment (2010 Measures No 1) Bill 2010 was introduced in the House of Reps on 10 February 2010. This Bill amends various parts of the superannuation legislation (as well as the ITAA 1936 and the Taxation Administration Act 1953) to implement the Government’s 2008-09 Budget announcement to provide a free superannuation clearing ...more

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