Tax advisers have expressed their concern that the government’s decision to defer the inclusion of financial planners into the new tax agent scheme, will result in greater risk of consumers receiving unregulated tax advice.
Last week the Federal Government revealed it would delay by as long as one year, the inclusion of financial planners in the new scheme.
The decision by the government to delay financial planner inclusion, has been criticized by the Institute of Chartered Accounts in Australia. The ICA says it believes that the regulation of tax advice should consistently applied to all financial advisers.
The new regime came into force from the beginning of March.
“Tax advice is such an integral component of financial planning that excluding planners would fundamentally erode the integrity of what the new tax agent regulatory regime is seeking to achieve – a higher standard of tax advisory services to the general public,” Tax counsel at the institute, Yasser El-Ansary said.]
Mr El-Ansary added that the government’s response to The Henry Review, which will be released on May 2nd, would result in major changes to the Australian tax system
“Ensuring advisers keep pace with potentially sweeping changes to tax law brings with it a need for appropriate controls that protect consumers of tax advisory services from the provision of unregulated advice.
“The new regime is designed to deliver the appropriate safeguards that are necessary in this area in future,” he said.
no comment untill now