The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) has issued for comment Draft Information Sheet TPB(I) D13/2012 (Code of Professional Conduct – Holding money or other property on trust). The Board discusses the obligation under item 3 of the Code of Conduct contained in the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA) on registered tax agents and BAS agents…
The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) has launched a new continuing professional education (CPE) policy for tax and BAS agents. Board Chairman Dale Boucher said that, from 1 July 2012, all tax practitioners should begin their CPE in accordance with the Board’s policy to maintain their professional knowledge and skills. All agents should maintain a record…
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has released its Performance Audit Report No 54 2011-12 on the effectiveness of the ATO’s administration of external debt collection arrangements. The ANAO reported that during the period of outsourced arrangements (from October 2007 to December 2011), the ATO referred 1.8m debt cases worth around $7bn to external collection…
The ATO has advised that it is proposing to make an administrative decision to provide MRRT taxpayers and new PRRT taxpayers with more time to notify the Commissioner of a consolidation choice. The ATO said the proposed decision responds to concerns raised by the industry and would assist with the transition to the new resource…
The Tax Office has released the following guides and publications in relation to the Minerals Resource Rent Tax which commences from 1 July 2012: Minerals Resource Rent Tax – introduction Application to register for mineral resource rent tax Key features, concepts and background to MRRT How MRRT affect you Who MRRT affects How to determine…
The Productivity Commission on Fri 29.6.2012 released a draft report as part of its inquiry into the selection and ongoing assessment of default superannuation funds in modern awards. The Commission’s preliminary finding is that there is no case for using prescriptive criteria for selecting and reassessing default funds in modern awards. It also found that…
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has released its Performance Audit Report No 47 2011-12 on the implementation and administration of the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House. Overall, the ANAO found the Clearing House was effectively implemented and well-administered by Medicare Australia. However, the report stated that Treasury did not prepare formal assessments of the…
The Minister also announced further details of SMSF auditor registration. Auditors will be able to apply for registration from 31 January 2013. All auditors must be registered with ASIC by 1 July 2013 to conduct SMSF audits after this time. Auditors required to sit the competency exam will be able to do so from 1…
The Government is calling for nominations from individuals interested in being appointed to the SuperStream Advisory Council. SuperStream is a package of reforms designed to improve the operation of the superannuation system, making it easier for members to keep track of and consolidate their superannuation accounts and making the system more efficient by streamlining the…
The ATO on Wed 13.6.2012, issued an Addendum to Self Managed Superannuation Fund Ruling SMSFR 2009/4 (The meaning of “asset”, “loan”, “investment in”, “lease” and “lease arrangement” in the definition of an “in-house asset” in the SIS Act) to, among other things, take into consideration the repeal of s 67(4A) of the SIS Act. [LTN…