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New legislation on BAS
New legislation requires tax agents and BAS agents to register with the Tax Practitioners Board—a new Australian Government agency—to provide BAS-related services (such as preparing PAYG summaries, setting up MYOB files and dealing with the Australian Taxation Office). The legislation became effective 1 March 2010.
Successful Alliances has already met this legal responsibility and is registered. As a result, our clients can be assured they are using a bookkeeping company rated as a bona fide practitioner and bound by the Code of Professional Conduct in the Tax Agent Services Act 2009.
Although a legal requirement, not all bookkeeping services are registered and so cannot offer their clients peace of mind that they are protected by safe harbour provisions (administered by the Australian Taxation Office) which may guard them from administrative penalties, where the agent did not take reasonable care.
The Code of Professional Conduct sets out the professional and ethical standards we are required to adhere to, which are not dissimilar to those Successful Alliances already adheres to as a matter of our own discipline and choice.
The standards cover 14 core principals and are organised into these five categories:
- honesty and integrity
- independence
- confidentiality
- competence
- other responsibilities (in relation to tax laws and insurance).
If you know of a business that wants to use bookkeeping services that is formally registered with the Australian Government and follows the highest code of ethics, please refer them to Successful Alliances.
If you have questions about the legal requirement for bookkeepers to register on the Tax Practitioners Board, do not hesitate to phone us on (02) 6287 2288.
For more information on the new legislation visit www.tpb.gov.au.