The Tax Practitioners Board has advised that, on 10 May 2012, the Federal Court ordered a Gold Coast woman to pay a penalty of $30,000 for contravening the Tax Agent Services Act 2009. The Board said it took the woman to court for providing a tax agent service for a fee while not being registered as a tax agent with the Board. This was the first civil penalty case brought to court by the Board.
The Board said the woman made a number of admissions after the case began, including that she had lodged at least 150 tax returns in relation to the 2010 tax year for a fee, but was unregistered with the Board. In ordering the penalty, the Court noted that the woman had cooperated with the Board and that she was genuinely contrite about her conduct.
Source: Tax Practitioners Board media release, 14 May 2012
[LTN 91, 14/5]