<strong>Period of Effect:</strong> 22/01/2024 to 22/01/2029<br/><strong>Reason:</strong> 40-25 Period during which you may not apply for registration
Suspension
None on record
Termination
<strong>Date of Effect:</strong> 22/01/2024<br/><strong>Reason:</strong> 40-5(1)(b) individual no longer meets registration requirements[POPUP_FOR_DETAILS]<br/><strong>Code breach(es):</strong> <ul><li>30-10(1) - You must act honestly and with integrity</li><li>30-10(2) - You must comply with the taxation laws in the conduct of your personal affairs</li><li>30-10(4) - You must act lawfully in the best interests of your client</li><li>30-10(13) - You must maintain professional indemnity insurance that meets the Board's requirements</li></ul><br/><strong>Event affecting registrations:</strong> <ul><li>20-45(e) Individual has become an undischarged bankrupt</li></ul><br/><strong>Registration requirement not met:</strong> <ul><li>20-5(1)(a) Individual has ceased to meet registration requirement that they are a fit and proper person</li><li>20-5(1)(c) Individual has ceased to meet registration requirement that they maintain professional indemnity insurance that meets the Board's requirements</li></ul><br/><strong>Explanation:</strong> On 7 December 2023, after completing an investigation, the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) decided to terminate the tax agent registration of Mr Andrew Marshall. The TPB found that Mr Marshall had engaged in conduct which breached subsections 30‑10(1), 30‑10(2), 30‑10(4) and 30‑10(13) of the Code of Professional Conduct (the Code) in the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA). The TPB also determined he was no longer eligible for registration, as he ceased to meet the tax practitioner registration requirements that he is a fit and proper person and maintains professional indemnity (PI) insurance under paragraphs 20-5(1)(a) and (c) of the TASA. The TPB imposed a period of five years during which he may not apply for registration.<br><br>The TPB found that Mr Marshall, in breaching the Code:<br>1. did not act honestly and with integrity by systematically misappropriating taxpayer funds totalling $2,534,276.25 between 6 March 2020 and 3 February 2023.<br>2. did not comply with the taxation laws in the conduct of his personal affairs by failing to pay, or comply with his payment arrangement with the Australian Taxation Office to pay, his ITA debt of $92,553.15 as and when it fell due, until it was cancelled due to him being declared an undischarged bankrupt on 26 July 2023. <br>3. did not act lawfully in the best interests of his clients by misusing his registered tax agent position for his own personal advantage or benefit, by misappropriating client funds totalling $2,502,252.25.<br>4. failed to maintain PI insurance that meets the Board’s requirements since 4 August 2022.<br><br>The TPB determined it was satisfied that an event affecting Mr Marshall’s continued registration as a tax agent had occurred under paragraph 20-45(e) of the TASA due to him being declared an undischarged bankrupt on 26 July 2023. <br><br>On the basis of Mr Marshall’s conduct that breached the Code, the seriousness of the conduct that undermined the integrity of, and public confidence in, the taxation system and the professional standards expected of tax practitioners, and being an undischarged bankrupt, the TPB was satisfied that Mr Marshall had ceased to meet the tax practitioner registration requirement under paragraph 20-5(1)(a) of the TASA that he is a fit and proper person.<br><br>The TPB also determined that by failing to maintain PI insurance that meets the Board’s requirements since 4 August 2022, Mr Marshall had ceased to meet the tax practitioner registration requirement under paragraph 20-5(1)(c) of the TASA.<br><br>In noting the nature and seriousness of the conduct that fell well short of the appropriate standards of professional and ethical conduct expected of a registered tax practitioner and in concluding that the TPB could not have any confidence that Mr Marshall would continue to uphold the requisite standards in the future if he were to remain registered, the TPB decided to terminate Andrew Marshall’s tax agent registration in accordance with subparagraph 60-125(2)(b)(ii) and paragraph 40-5(1)(b) of the TASA, on the basis that he ceased to meet the tax practitioner registration requirements under paragraphs 20-5(1)(a) and (c) of the TASA. <br><br>Given the above, the TPB also decided that Mr Marshall be prohibited from applying for registration under the TASA for a period of five years from the date the termination of his registration takes effect.<br>