TODAY the chair of the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB), Ian Taylor, has announced that the TPB has launched a new compliance strategy, calling on registered tax practitioners -- which collectively refers to tax agents, business activity statement (BAS) agents and tax (financial) advisers) -- to settle their outstanding tax obligations.

Mr Taylor is reminding tax practitioners including those who may have failed to lodge income tax returns and activity statements and those who may have outstanding debts with the ATO of their obligations.

"Many tax practitioners continue to serve their clients with professionalism and integrity," Mr Taylor said. "However, we are concerned with those practitioners acting in breach of the law."

About five percent of tax practitioners have late lodgements with the ATO, including activity statements and tax returns. Seven percent of tax practitioners have outstanding ATO debts, totalling nearly $115 million, without arrangement to repay these bills.

"The numbers of tax practitioners failing their tax obligations can undermine trust and confidence in the profession," Mr Taylor said.

"Tax practitioners with outstanding lodgements of income tax returns or activity statements and ATO debt need to address these obligations urgently as they may be in breach of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009."

This new compliance strategy has been prompted by fresh data analysis indicating areas of non-compliance by registered tax practitioners.

The data shows that over 2,500 tax practitioners have not lodged one or more of their personal income tax returns or for those of their associated entities and over 1,000 have more than one outstanding Business Activity Statements (BAS) or for their associated entities. Of these numbers, nearly 500 tax practitioners have a combination of both.

In addition, over 2,700 tax practitioners, who are also trustees of their own self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF), have outstanding SMSF annual returns.

In relation to ATO debt, over 5,000 have a debt of over $300 (with no active payment arrangements), representing a total debt of nearly $115 million.

"The TPB will initially work closely with practitioners to give them an opportunity to remedy any outstanding tax obligations," Mr Taylor said.

"After six weeks, firmer action will be taken to enforce the laws, including investigations, prosecutions and proactive collection action where appropriate."

A new information sheet outlines what is required of tax practitioners under Code item 2 (complying with the taxation laws in the conduct of personal affairs).

About the Tax Practitioners Board

The Tax Practitioners Board regulates tax practitioners in order to protect consumers. The TPB aims to assure the community that tax practitioners meet appropriate standards of professional and ethical conduct.

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THE House Standing Committee on Agriculture and Water Resources has tabled its report today into the issue of superannuation fund investment in Australian agriculture.

Committee chair, Rick Wilson MP, emphasised that the Committee’s consideration of this issue since May has highlighted that the lack of superannuation investment in the sector is not a black and white issue.

“The level of investment in Australian agriculture by domestic super funds is low, and the Committee received consistent evidence that regulation was not the primary barrier preventing this investment”, Mr Wilson noted, “a range of factors all contribute – from the liquidity requirements of super funds, to the impact of climate and inconsistent knowledge of the sector."

The Committee made four recommendations, aimed at improving the data available on the agriculture sector and making it more suitable to investment analysis; revisiting the potential negative impact of foreign investment rules and tax burdens; expanding publicly available information about the sector and its investment suitability, both domestically and internationally; and establishing a superannuation and agriculture sector working group to stimulate mutual understanding of areas for improvement and investment.

“Ultimately, better information and awareness of the benefits of Australian agriculture as a steady and suitable investment target, will improve investment from both superannuation funds and the wider investment community. This can only lead to best practice agriculture and a sustainable market into the future.” Mr Wilson said.

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“THE THREE months to October were the worst for housing loans to investors in over five years,” according to Master Builders Australia (MBA) chief economist Shane Garrett.

The ABS results for housing finance during October 2018 have just been released. They show that the value of investor loans fell by 4.3 percent during the three months to October and were 18.5 percent lower compared with the same time last year.

“August 2013 was the last time investor lending volumes were as low as they are now. Lending to housing investors has fallen by over 30 percent since the peak in early 2015," Mr Garrett said. 

“The introduction of more stringent APRA regulations in early 2015 kicked off the decline in investor lending. It has been greatly exacerbated by the commencement of the Royal Commission’s work – lenders have become much more nervous about making financing available," he said. 

“The reduction in investor activity is not all down to lending policies. Many investors are reluctant about entering into markets where house prices are falling. In other places, rental price growth is soft and investors have sat out," Mr Garrett said. 

“While investors are exiting the market at the moment, the story for first home buyers (FHB) is much more positive. At 18.1 percent, the FHB share of owner occupier housing loans is at its highest since late 2012. About 114,000 FHB home loans have been issued over the past 12 months - an increase of 14.9% on a year earlier," he said. 

“Despite the significant challenges the housing market faces, it is encouraging that so many Australians can look forward to celebrating Christmas in their very own home for the first time this year,” Mr Garrett said. 

www.masterbuilders.com.au

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THE histories of people who have played major roles in the House of Representatives will be uncovered in a project begun recently. The people are the House Speakers, Deputy Speakers, and Clerks.

The project brings together the House of Representatives department and the Australian National University’s National Centre of Biography, manager of the Australian Dictionary of Biography. The biographies will be released online in early 2020 and will be known as the Dictionary of the House of Representatives.

Some Speakers and their Deputies are very well known to many Australians but in other cases the biographies will bring their part in the history of the House to public attention for the first time since the early years of Federation.

Clerk of the House, David Elder, said, "Australians are used to seeing the day to day political struggle of the House on the news but this project will tell us a much more reflective story about the role of the House and how it works. As an institution it is absolutely central to our democratic framework. The project will help explain three of its key offices."

"Members who have been elected to be Speaker or Deputy Speaker have stood apart from the politics of the day. When they take up those roles it is on behalf of the whole House. The third group, the Clerks, are principal advisers on House operations. Their role is a much less public one and they have always been expected to work impartially."

Mr Elder also said that in addition to the individual biographies, the House department would produce short pieces explaining how each role has developed, what was inherited from the Westminster tradition at Federation, and what traditions have begun here.

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