Message from the Chair of the Tax Practitioners Board - 10 November 2011

The Chair of the Tax Practitioners Board (Board), Mr Dale Boucher, issued a message on 10 November 2011 on matters impacting on tax agents and BAS agents.

The key issues in his message included:

• A small number of tax agents notified the Board that they were providing tax agent services prior to 1 March 2010, but did not have the qualification and experience required by the Board for a standard registration. To continue providing tax agent services for a fee or other reward, you should lodge your application to renew your registration by no later than 29 January 2012, 30 days before it expires
• The Board wants to make sure that their actions are transparent, especially to those most affected by them. If you are a registered agent and you are concerned about something the Board is doing or not doing, please contact them 
• If you have now obtained your BAS agent education qualifications, you can apply to re register to beat the rush in January and February 2012 
• If you are a registered tax or BAS agent you must advise the Board of any change to your registration details in writing. The preferred method of doing this is online, using ‘agent login’ and using the ‘your profile’ online form
• If the Board grants an application for registration, your agent details including your name, practice name, particular contact details and any relevant professional affiliations will appear on the Register of Registered and De-registered Tax Agents and BAS Agents 
• Details contained on the register about newly registered agents are provided to the ATO in order for the ATO to provide and maintain access to the Tax Agent Portal or BAS Agent Portal, agent phone service, and electronic lodgment service
• Under the Code of Professional Conduct a tax or BAS agent who receives a request or direction from the Board must respond to that request in a timely, responsible and reasonable manner. Claiming legal professional privilege or other legal rights on behalf of a client will not be considered an unreasonable response to a direction of the Board
• For those BAS agents who would like more information about how to fill out the online renewal form you can attend a webinar in early December 
• The qualifications list contains a listing of the courses that have been approved by the Board as meeting the requirements of the following Board approved courses: 
  • Australian taxation law
  • Commercial law 
  • Basic accountancy principles.

On a related matter, the Board has also prepared an article for practitioners on issues that cover BAS agent renewals.

Article last updated 9 May 2012