The Federal Court has dismissed an applicant’s appeal from the decision in AAT Case [2014] AATA 112, Re Ayles and Tax Practitioners Board in which the AAT refused his application for registration as a tax agent on the basis that the applicant did not satisfy the necessary tertiary qualification experience which, according to the AAT,…
The Government has released the Draft Tax Agent Services Amendment (Tax (Financial) Advisers) Regulation 2014 to amend the Tax Agent Services Regulations 2009 which prescribe a tailored set of ongoing registration requirements for tax (financial) advisers, as well as a number of other related amendments. At the same time, the Government has taken this opportunity…
The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) has reminded financial advisers who provide tax advice that they can notify the Board to be registered as tax (financial) advisers from next month. The TPB said the notification period begins on 1 July 2014 and ends on 31 December 2015. During this notification period, Australian financial services (AFS) licensees and their authorised representatives…
The Inspector-General of Taxation (IGT), Mr Ali Noroozi, on Thur 19.6.2014, commenced a review into the ATO’s management of tax disputes involving large businesses and high wealth individuals (HWIs). Mr Noroozi said on 2 June 2014, the Acting Assistant Treasurer, Senator Mathias Cormann, referred an inquiry into tax disputes to the House of Reps Standing Committee on…
The ANAO on Tue 24.6.2014, released its report No 50 of 2013-14 Cyber Attacks: Securing Agencies’ ICT Systems. Agencies included in the audit included the ATO, ABS, Customs, and the Australian Financial Security Authority. The report found the agencies subject to audit had established internal information security frameworks, implemented controls designed to safeguard the enterprise…
The ANAO report on the Administration of the Australian Business Register (ABR) was released on Mon 23.6.2014. The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the administration of the Register. As at 7 May 2014, the ABR held information relating to 10.8 million ABNs, of which 7.7 million were active. The report says there…
The Government on Mon 2.6.2014, released the Inspector-General of Taxation’s (IGT) report into the ATO’s management of transfer pricing matters. The report was presented to the Assistant Treasurer in December 2013. The review found that key causes of stakeholder concerns were inadequate succession planning and resource management. Mr Noroozi reported that experience specialist officers had left the…
The Australian National Audit Office’s Report No 35 assessing the effectiveness of the ATO’s activities to promote tax compliance by high wealth individuals (HWIs) was tabled in Parliament on Wed 4.6.2014. The ATO defines HWIs as Australian resident individuals who, together with their associates, effectively control an estimated net wealth of $30m or more. The…
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) on Thur 12.6.2014, released Audit Report No 39 Compliance Effectiveness Methodology. The review examined the application of the ATO’s Compliance Effectiveness Methodology (CEM) in evaluating the effectiveness of key compliance activities and in shaping the development of strategies to promote voluntary compliance. The review found the ATO applied generally…
The Senate Economics Legislation Committee on Mon 16.6.2014, tabled its report on the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (Repeal) (No 1) Bill 2014. The Bill, which is still before the House of Reps, proposes to repeal the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012, thereby abolishing the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (the ACNC). The…