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Tax practitioners warned to ensure that they use appropriate client verification processes

THE Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) is urging all tax practitioners to ensure that they take appropriate steps to validate a taxpayer’s identity, and do not risk compromising client data which may lead to fraud.

It follows a recent case where a registered tax practitioner failed to take appropriate steps in handling and verifying client data. As a result, the TPB determined that the agent breached items of the Code of Professional Conduct in the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 relating to competency, honesty and integrity.

  • The registered tax practitioner from Western Sydney, was approached by three individuals who asked him to lodge in excess of 100 income tax returns (ITRs) on behalf of their associated employees. They provided false documentation on behalf of these employees. The agent agreed to lodge these ITRs without undertaking any proper enquiries about the identity of these tax payers. The agent’s recklessness facilitated fake tax returns and in turn fraudulent refunds.
  • The TPB terminated the agent’s registration and imposed a five year non-application period. On appeal, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal affirmed the TPB’s termination decision, and varied the non-application period from five years to four years, noting that while there was no direct evidence of dishonesty “…the applicant’s lack of rigour in the conduct of his affairs and his apparent disregard for the duties of his role adds up to something that is almost as bad, and which certainly reflects poorly on his integrity and character. He may not be dishonest, but he has not demonstrated the commitment to competent and conscientious behaviour that one would expect of a tax agent.”

Speaking about this issue, TPB chair, Ian Klug said, "The TPB is concerned to have seen a recent increase in cases relating to poor client verification processes. The verification of client data is of utmost importance in the interaction between tax agent and their client. The TPB is shortly to issue a Practice Note, which aims to give clear guidance on Proof of Identity checks and the policy around them.

"All tax practitioners are bound by the Code of Professional Conduct and failing to take reasonable care when verifying an individual’s identity, acts against the public interest in that it risks inaccurate or fraudulent claims and ultimately erodes trust of the tax profession."

 

About the Tax Practitioners Board

The TPB 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. 

Twitter_@TPB_gov_au, LinkedIn and Facebook. 

 

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QRC welcomes more land for gas exploration

THE Queensland Resources Council, the peak organisation for the State’s coal, metal and petroleum producers, explorers and suppliers, has welcomed the release of more than 3000sqkm of land in parts of south west and central Queensland near existing infrastructure to fast-track the gas to market.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the resources industry had called on the Palaszczuk Government to release more land for exploration to create jobs, boost exports and drive down energy costs to help stimulate the Queensland economy from the impacts of COVID-19.

“The resources sector has played a critical role in keeping Queenslanders working and earning through COVID-19 and is central to the state’s economic recovery. Allowing industry to responsibly develop gas for both the domestic and export markets  will benefit all Queenslanders” Mr Macfarlane said.

“Senex Energy, State Gas, Comet Ridge and Denison Gas will explore the blocks of land with over 450sqkm assigned with a domestic-only condition.

“Senex has also announced a domestic gas supply agreement with the Northern Oil Refinery near Gladstone with up to 2.5 petajoules of gas which will support 32 jobs directly and hundreds more indirectly.”

Mr Macfarlane said Queensland’s oil and gas industry contributes $8 billion to the State’s economy, supports more than 37,000 full time jobs and invests $2.7 billion with local businesses and community organisations.

www.qrc.org.au

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Hydrogen and batteries priority for tech plan

ENERGY NETWORKS Australia (ENA) has welcomed the recognition of hydrogen and batteries as key parts of the clean energy transition in the Federal Government's Technology Roadmap.

ENA CEO, Andrew Dillon, said the appointment of Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) CEO Ben Wilson to the ministerial reference group showed the clear role renewable gases would play in our energy future.

"This is not about one technology or another, it's about the right mix to achieve our goals of clean, reliable and affordable energy for Australia," Mr Dillon said.

"Household, distribution and transmission level batteries will play their part along with renewable gases like hydrogen.

"To maximise the value we get from batteries, we need to also improve pricing signals to encourage smart technologies such as household batteries and electric vehicles to charge and discharge when it’s best for everyone. Examples of this are already in practice by SA Power Networks, Western Power and Horizon Power."

Mr Dillon said the goal of producing hydrogen for $2 per kg should also be coupled with targets for blending hydrogen in our distribution networks.

"Our customers prefer using gas for cooking and heating, but they want to see emissions reductions," he said.

"Networks like those owned by AGIG, Jemena and ATCO are already trialling the blending of hydrogen for use in homes and businesses.

"The development of a domestic hydrogen market is an essential step towards getting the price of production down and supporting a viable export market."

An update to the energy industry's Gas Vision 2050 is expected to be released later this week. A collaboration of gas industry associations, this report models the role of gas and renewable gases like hydrogen in future domestic and industrial scenarios.

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CO2CRC welcomes the Australian Government's first Low Emissions Technology Statement

THE CO2 Cooperative Research Centre (CO2CRC) has welcomed today’s release of the first Low Emissions Technology Statement by Angus Taylor, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, and its recognition of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as one of the five identified priority low emissions technologies for Australia.

“Developing economic ‘stretch’ goals for each priority technology and annual reporting on progress towards these goals provides a measurable commitment to the long-term strategic importance of these areas and an imperative for their cost-effective deployment," CO2CRC chief executive David Byers said.

“As Australia’s leading Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) research organisation, CO2CRC believes that the stretch goal for CCS ($20 per tonne for CO2 compression, transport and storage) is achievable with the right level of investment in technology development and project deployment.

"This is also consistent with the conclusions of leading independent academic and industry technoeconomic studies. Establishing the goal will encourage the development, application and scaling up of low emission and low-cost technologies, strengthening industry and delivering more jobs.

“Australia is uniquely positioned to be at the forefront of the global scale-up of CCS technologies," he said. "It has ready access to the latest carbon capture and storage technologies and expertise, some of the world’s best deep sedimentary basins in which to store CO2 and an internationally recognised resources industry and researchers.

"Local and international researchers and industry have also been supported for more than a decade by CO2CRC’s Otway National Research Facility in south west Victoria, which is one of the most advanced field scale CCS research sites globally.

“With around two-thirds of emissions in Australia coming from outside the power generation sector, technologies like CCS with broad application across the economy, are vital to achieving long-term emissions reduction goals while maintaining Australia’s economic resilience.”    

“The value of CCS is its versatility as a technology. Its applications extend from natural gas processing and power generation to steel and cement production, where emissions are hard to abate due to inherent process emissions and high temperature heat requirements," Mr Byers said.

"Producing clean hydrogen from gas or coal paired with CCS also offers the most cost-effective, reliable, and flexible pathway to large-scale hydrogen production.

“CCS projects also offer a large-scale emissions reduction opportunity (millions of tonnes per annum (Mtpa) for 20+ years), which is an order of magnitude higher than many other abatement options.

"For example, the Gorgon LNG Project is progressively ramping up to full capacity of up to 4Mtpa of safe and permanent storage of CO2. The Victorian CarbonNet Project plans to geologically store around 5Mtpa CO2 each year and Santos is examining a large-scale commercial CCS project to be located in the Cooper Basin with a scalable potential to store up to 20 Mt of CO2 per year," he said.

www.co2crc.com.au

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Post-pandemic vision for a 24-hour City of Sydney

THE CITY of Sydney is working with the NSW Government on a vision to create a 24-hour alfresco city that will support Sydney’s recovery from the economic impact of the pandemic.

Sydney’s community recovery plan focusses on the need to reactivate the city centre and local precincts with outdoor dining and bars, late night trading, live music, and cultural institutions staying open in the evening.

Together the City and the government will work to cut red tape and create a streamlined process that will make it easier than ever before for businesses to take up outdoor dining in reclaimed spaces and laneways.  Under the new plans, associated outdoor dining fees will also be waived until March 2021.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the City had been working towards the creation of a 24-hour alfresco city for more than 10 years.

“Over the last decade we have proposed the light rail and helped create a pleasant, people-friendly George Street, we have paved laneways and campaigned for small bars,” the Lord Mayor said.

“Now by removing fees and red tape and working with businesses to find as many outdoor dining opportunities as possible, we’re supporting Covid-recovery while realising our vision of an alfresco city.

“We need to allow and encourage businesses to operate outdoors, and we need to support our creative and cultural life to activate and draw people back to our city, safely. We want to ensure our city businesses survive, and create new opportunities to thrive in the long term.

“Having brunch with friends, a wine after work or grabbing a quick bite and watching the world go by are some of the best moments of urban life. Encouraging outdoor dining makes it easier for us to enjoy those things and support local businesses while maintaining a safe physical distance.

“The City is working with businesses along Sydney high streets, in laneways and in the CBD to identify parking spots, traffic lanes and footpaths for outdoor dining including Pitt, Barrack and Crown streets and Tankstream and Wilmot lanes.”

The 12-month outdoor dining pilot is set to begin in November and support measures for the small business, community and cultural sector will be extended to March 30, 2021.

Measures include:

  • waiving fees for Health and Building compliance activities;
  • reviewing rents in conjunction with tenants in City premises for those tenants that require support on a case-by-case basis;
  • waiving standard contractual terms and return venue booking and banner fees to people and organisations who have booked City of Sydney venues and banners and may then be unable to proceed with their bookings;
  • waiving footway dining, market permit and filming fees on the grounds of hardship;
  • providing additional rental support for our Accommodation Grant Program tenants and childcare services by waiving all rent;
  • and allowing recipients to vary their deliverables under existing grants to enable recipients to retain those funds to support the continuing viability of the City’s cultural and creative community.

The City’s community recovery plan was developed in consultation with the community and made a commitment to putting the cultural sector at the heart of economic recovery by enabling creatives to reactivate the CBD and precincts.

The City unveiled its community recovery plan in June with a key action to promote a city that is safe, clean and open for business, and encourages Sydneysiders to visit the CBD and shop local.  

The plan builds on the $72.5 million support package released by the City in April for small businesses, artists and others in the creative and community sectors left devastated by the loss of work due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Coles to source more than 90pc of Qld electricity needs from CleanCo

FROM JULY 2022, Coles will source more than 90 percent of its Queensland electricity requirements from CleanCo, after entering into a landmark 10-year agreement with the state-owned clean energy generator and retailer.

Coles will purchase 400 GWh of electricity annually through the agreement. The Western Downs Green Power Hub, set to be Australia’s largest solar farm once built, and the MacIntyre Wind Farm, one of the largest wind farms to be built in the southern hemisphere, will supply three quarters of the Coles’ electricity requirements, with the remainder supported by CleanCo’s low emissions portfolio.

The partnership will reduce Coles electricity carbon dioxide emissions nationally by an estimated 20 percent or 240,000 tonnes annually*, which is the annual equivalent of taking 100,000 vehicles off the road^. It also secures the development of both projects, which together with CleanCo’s Karara wind farm, will create 800 local jobs in Queensland’s Western and Southern Downs.

Last year, Coles became the first major Australian retailer to commit to buying renewable energy through a 10-year power purchase agreement with global renewable power generation company Metka EGN, purchasing more than 70 percent of the electricity generated by three solar power plants in regional NSW.

Coles Group CEO Steven Cain said the significant increase in renewable energy is a major part of Coles’ commitment to be Australia’s most sustainable supermarket.

“We have already made changes throughout our business to use energy more efficiently, which has enabled us to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 36.5 percent since 2009, while growing our team member base and store network,” Mr Cain said.

Coles chief sustainability, property and export officer Thinus Keeve said Coles was committed to purchasing renewable energy across the country.

“Long-term agreements like this are a great example of how we are able to reduce our energy costs, support the community and make a meaningful impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Mr Keeve said.

“The CleanCo and Metka EGN agreements are great examples of how we can grow renewable energy generation capacity in Australia because they give the developers the certainty they need to invest and we look forward to growing our partnerships with renewable energy providers in the future.”

CleanCo CEO Maia Schweizer said providing competitively-priced clean energy to Coles allows CleanCo to create growth and jobs in south-west Queensland associated with its 2025 goal of 1000 MW of new renewable generation.

“We are proud to partner with Coles and provide renewables-backed power for its Queensland sites under one contract,” Dr Schweizer said.

 

About the Western Downs Green Power Hub

The Western Downs Green Power Hub is located 22km south-east of Chinchilla and will connect to the electricity grid via a new overhead line to publicly-owned Powerlink’s existing Western Downs substation. Generation is scheduled for the first quarter of 2022. The project will generate enough energy to power about 235,000 Queensland homes.

About the MacIntyre Wind Farm

The MacIntyre Wind Farm is located about 50km west of Warwick and will connect to the electricity grid via a new overhead power line. Generation is scheduled for 2024. The project will generate enough energy to power about 700,000 Queensland homes.

 

* Estimated using market-based greenhouse gas emission accounting method with a residual mix factor of 1.08 TCO2e/MWh.

^ National Transport Commission, Carbon Dioxide Emissions Intensity for New Australian Light Vehicles 2019, June 2020 & 9208.0 - Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, Australia, 12 months ended June 30, 2018.

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Hearings continue into food insecurity in remote Indigenous communities

THE inquiry into food pricing and food security in remote Indigenous communities is holding a further public hearing on Wednesday September 23.

Among the organisations appearing before the committee will be the National Rural Health Alliance, the Australian Food and Grocery Council, and Metcash.

Julian Leeser MP, Chair of the House of Representatives Indigenous Affairs Committee, said each of the organisations would have unique perspectives on the issues surrounding food affordability and availability in remote Indigenous communities.

“We look forward to continuing discussions at this hearing about the supply chains and pricing arrangements that exist for remote Indigenous community stores and also about the health impacts of poor food security in these areas. The Committee is keen to hear the views of Metcash and the Australian Food and Grocery Council on the challenges posed by the business environment for food and groceries in remote Indigenous communities”, Mr Leeser said.

The witnesses and Members will all be appearing by videoconference or teleconference due to social distancing requirements relating to COVID-19. Full programs are available on the inquiry website.

Public hearing details

Date: Wednesday, 23 September 2020
Time: 10am to 3.20pm AEST
Location: Via video and teleconference

An audio broadcast will be accessible at aph.gov.au/live.

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Oracle and Walmart announce 'tentative' US Govt approval over TikTok

UNITED STATES President Donald Trump has announced that ByteDance has received tentative approval for an agreement with the US Government to resolve the outstanding issues, which will now include Oracle and Walmart together investing to acquire 20 percent of the newly formed TikTok Global business.

As a part of the deal, TikTok is creating a new company called TikTok Global that will be responsible for providing all TikTok services to users in the US and most of the users in the rest of the world. Today, the administration has conditionally approved a landmark deal where Oracle becomes TikTok's secure cloud provider.

TikTok Global will be majority owned by American investors, including Oracle and Walmart. TikTok Global will be an independent American company, headquartered in the US, with four Americans out of the five member board of directors.

All the TikTok technology will be in possession of TikTok Global, and comply with US laws and privacy regulations. Data privacy for 100 million American TikTok users will be quickly established by moving all American data to Oracle's Generation 2 Cloud data centers, the most secure cloud data centres in the world.

Based on decades of experience securing the world's most sensitive data, Oracle's Generation 2 Cloud fully isolates running applications and responds to security threats autonomously. This unique technology eliminates the risk of foreign governments spying on American users or trying to influence them with disinformation.

In addition to its equity position, Walmart will bring its omni-channel retail capabilities including its Walmart.com assortment, eCommerce marketplace, fulfillment, payment and measurement-as-a-service advertising service.

TikTok Global will create more than 25,000 new jobs in the US and TikTok Global will pay more than $5 billion in new tax dollars to the US Treasury.

TikTok Global, together with Oracle, SIG, General Atlantic, Sequoia, Walmart and Coatue will create an educational initiative to develop and deliver an AI-driven online video curriculum to teach children from inner cities to the suburbs, a variety of courses from basic reading and math to science, history and computer engineering.

TikTok Global will have an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in less than 12 months and be listed on a US Exchange. After the IPO, US ownership of TikTok Global will increase and continue to grow over time.

With this agreement, TikTok Global will able to continue to provide a hundred million Americans with access to the social network they love, and spark much needed competition in the market for social networks.

About Oracle
The Oracle Cloud offers a complete suite of integrated applications for sales, service, marketing, human resources, finance, supply chain and manufacturing, plus highly automated and secure Generation 2 infrastructure featuring the Oracle Autonomous Database. Oracle (NYSE: ORCL).  www.oracle.com.

About Walmart
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better - anytime and anywhere - in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, over 265 million customers and members visit approximately 11,500 stores under 56 banners in 27 countries and eCommerce websites. With fiscal year 2020 revenue of $524 billion, Walmart employs over 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at twitter.com/walmart.

Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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ATEC aligns with WTTC Safe Travel protocols as part of its #TravelSafeAustralia strategy

THE Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) has aligned with the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) in becoming a lead agency with authority to issue Australian tourism businesses with the globally recognised ‘Safe Travel’ stamp.

The stamp has been developed by the global travel and tourism industry body to recognise businesses which adopt standardised health and hygiene protocols. ATEC has incorporated the Safe Travel branding - designed as a recognisable health and safety trademark for consumers globally - into its COVID Ready program.

“ATEC has developed the rigorous, sector specific ‘COVID Ready’ program which aligns with the standards defined by the WTTC,” ATEC managing director Peter Shelley said..

"The ATEC program enables tourism businesses to identify covid risk points within the customer journey and implement risk management solutions, all of which are captured in a COVID Ready plan aligned with state and national regulatory requirements.

“ATEC has incorporated the WTTC Safe Travels branding as part of our Tourism Trade Checklist which recognises businesses who have completed and uploaded a COVID Ready Plan. The WTTC Safe Travel global branding is another level of recognition which will assist Australian tourism businesses to stand out in the international marketplace.

“As an organisation with the authority to endorse tourism businesses, ATEC is able to connect Australian tourism businesses with global Safe Travel protocols which quickly verifies a business’s compliance.”

Over the past few months ATEC has been developing a comprehensive strategy to meet the needs of the industry and expectations of the global traveller once international borders open.  The strategy, titled #TravelSafeAustralia includes three components working together to ensure quality COVID Safe experiences, the components include:

  • COVID Ready suppliers – all suppliers servicing the international market have completed and uploaded a COVID Ready plan into ATEC Tourism Trade Checklist portal and have  received the WTTC Safe Travels stamp and ready for international visitors.
  • COVID Risk Reduction – an alignment with goPassport biometric risk management system, a comprehensive, real-time COVID-19 alert system for inbound international travellers. 
  • COVID Safe Managed Travel - Australian based inbound tour operators (ITOs) taking accountability for the COVID Safe travel of international visitors from arrival to departure.

"#TravelSafeAustralia is a world leading strategy to re-engage international travellers in a safe and structured way, delivering a strong and clear message around both our expectations and responsibilities in mitigating the risk of COVID in our community and for our visitors.
 
“We are pleased to be able to connect to the global Safe Travel program in supporting the WTTC in its work to ensure the safety of the global travel workforce and travellers as the sector shifts to a new normal.”

www.atec.net.au

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Caravanning and Camping most popular holiday type for Australians in 2019 with 60m holiday nights

THE newly released State of Industry 2020 Report from Caravan Industry Association of Australia lays out the past performance of Australia’s caravan and camping industry and highlights the opportunity for the industry to drive recovery.

In 2019, the total caravan and camping visitor nights exceeded 60 million and 14 million trips for the first time.

"When you reflect that there are 24.8 million Australians and 8.4 million households, caravan and camping holidays has become an integral part of our national travelling behaviour," a spokesperson said.

"Without a doubt, the industry has recently been overshadowed by an uncertain world where a devastating bushfire season coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic has firmly applied the brakes on what was an incredible period of growth for Australia’s caravan and camping industry."

To put this into context, since 2010 the market has grown by:

  •       an additional 5.5 million caravan and camping trips;
  •       an extra 17.3 million nights spent caravan and camping annually; and
  •       over 196,000 recreational vehicles have been manufactured and registered.

Caravan Industry Association of Australia CEO, Stuart Lamont, said, “Whilst looking back at 2019 may seem unimportant in the current climate, the year marked a number of important milestones for the industry."

It is the year that according to Tourism Research Australia, caravan and camping became the most popular holiday type for Australians. This is no easy achievement when we consider the significant competitive nature of the tourism sector.

“Looking forward, we are optimistic about the future of the caravan and camping industry, especially as Australians look to support local business, reconnect with loved ones and spend time in nature after such a challenging year” Mr Lamont said.

The State of Industry 2020 Report provides an important benchmark and highlights the importance of the caravan and camping sector to the performance of Australia’s visitor economy, bringing together the many different sectors and operating conditions relevant to the caravan and camping industry

Reflecting on the year prior helps to paint a picture as to the wide-reaching positive impact the industry has on regional Australia and the manufacturing industry.

The caravan and camping industry is incredibly well placed to drive tourism and economic recovery through encouraging job creation, creating strong value chains and supporting regional economies," Mr Lamont said.

www.caravanindustry.com.au

 

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New campaign puts politicians on notice: 'Let Us Build Qld'

QUEENSLAND politicians vying for government in the upcoming election are being put on notice that now is the time to stop millions of dollars in profits flowing overseas to foreign owned construction companies.

Australian Owned Contractors (AOC) has launched the ‘Let Us Build Queensland’ campaign, demanding that Queensland projects be built by Queensland and Australian owned companies.

The six-week campaign strategically targets marginal seats ahead of the State election, focusing on the Brisbane and Gold Coast seats of Aspley, Mansfield and Gaven and the regional seats of Townsville and Mundingburra.

AOC CEO Brent Crockford and AOC director Scott Power said the campaign deliberately pulled no punches, including election-style advertising and an online petition to force action.

“Voters in marginal seats will be mobilised and politicians pressured to make action on this issue part of their election platform,” Mr Crockford said.
“All of Australia’s major construction companies are now foreign owned and they dominate across our biggest public infrastructure projects.

“In fact, 95 cents in every dollar spent by Governments on these major projects across the country now goes to foreign owned companies.

“The ‘Let Us Build Queensland’ campaign seeks to draw a line in the sand ahead of the State election, and to illustrate to Queenslanders who really reap the benefits of our biggest projects – and it’s not Australian companies.”

The AOC represents 18 of Australia’s leading home-grown and owned contracting companies and has launched the campaign to fight for local opportunity and competition, local skills development, and domestic company growth.

Mr Power said most Queenslanders were unaware of just how high the cards were stacked against local construction and engineering firms when it came to bidding for and winning major work.

“Our companies regularly take on and successfully deliver projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but we are locked out and left fighting for sub-contracting scraps when it comes to leading the biggest projects,” Mr Power said.

“Capability is rarely a factor in these situations – it comes down to ability to take on sole financial risk when procurement is bundled together in mega-projects by government agencies.

“It’s a one-size-fits-all mentality to tendering which relegates Australian companies to second class subcontractor status while foreign owned multi-nationals lead the work on our biggest national projects.”

Mr Crockford said the AOC campaign was unapologetic in drawing voter attention to the issue and urged Queenslanders to sign the petition which called on local politicians to put a stop to offshore favouritism.

The ‘Let Us Build Queensland’ petition is available via the campaign webpage: www.letusbuild.com.au

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