A former tax agent has been unsuccessful in seeking a review of the Tax Practitioners Board’s decision to terminate his registration for 2 years. The tax agent had pleaded guilty and was convicted under s 134.2(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 for obtaining “a financial advantage by deception” from obtaining refunds of GST input tax credits as a consequence of lodging false BASs for 2 companies of which he was a director. Although he was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 6 months, the Court instead imposed a recognisance order to be of good behaviour for a period of 12 months and ordered him to pay reparation in the sum of $60,000.
In finding that it was not appropriate to apply the discretion to overturn the Board’s decision to terminate his registration, the AAT took into account the fact that the offences involved dishonest fraudulent conduct over an extended period of time and that this conduct was not isolated, nor minor. It also found that the tax agent apparently showed no contrition and “on the contrary, he seems to refuse to accept the gravity of his errant conduct”. In addition, the AAT noted that the tax agent had been a director of 5 companies that have been wound up and that in several cases, the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation was the sole creditor (albeit emphasising that this matter was not relevant to his criminal conduct).
Accordingly, the AAT concluded that it would have no confidence the tax agent would not again deviate from the high standards required of him as a registered tax agent and that his conduct warranted the termination of his registration.
(AAT Case [2013] AATA 301, Re Trevaskis and Tax Practitioners Board, AAT, Ref No: 2013/0773, Hack DP, 14 May 2013.)
[LTN 93, 16/5/13]