1/2 Castlereagh Street Penrith New South Wales 2750
Other records
Expiry date
01/07/2024
Condition
Sanctions
None on record
Appeal
Board decision
CXL Reason
Disqualification
<strong>Period of Effect:</strong> 14/09/2023 to 14/09/2028<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> 14/09/2023<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(3) - If you receive money or other property from or on behalf of a client, and you hold the money or other property on trust, you must account to your client for the money or other property</li><li>30-10(4) - You must act lawfully in the best interests of your client</li><li>30-10(8) - You must maintain knowledge and skills relevant to the tax agent services that you provide</li><li>20-15(a) Fit and Proper - good fame, integrity and character</li><li>20-5 Eligibility for Registration</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></ul><br/><strong>Explanation:</strong> On 20 July 2023, after completing an investigation, the Tax Practitioners Board (the TPB) decided to terminate the tax agent registration of Benjamin Carter as he ceased to meet the tax practitioner registration requirement that he is a fit and proper person. The TPB also found that Mr Carter had engaged in conduct that breached subsections 30-10(1), 30-10(2), 30-10(3), 30-10(4) and 30-10(8) of the Code of Professional Conduct (Code) in the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA). <br>The TPB found that Mr Carter had breached the Code and was no longer a fit and proper person on the basis that he:<br>• failed to declare his outstanding personal tax obligations to the TPB in an application for renewal of his tax agent registration and a new application for registration for a related entity.<br>• failed to meet his employer obligation to pay superannuation guarantee entitlements to his employees over several years.<br>• knowingly lodged two false business activity statements (BAS) on behalf of a client, without the client’s knowledge, and then failed to pass the resulting tax refund of $40,000 on to the client.<br>• made false or misleading statements to two clients, that their returns had been lodged with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) when they had not, and advised the clients that they owed tax debts totalling almost $490,000 between them, causing them to pay those amounts to Mr Carter, which he then used for his own benefit. <br>• failed to account for, or pass on to clients, refunds and other payments from the ATO, totalling almost $350,000, received on trust for those clients, which he then used for his own benefit.<br>• received payments totalling $440,000.00 from two clients for the purpose of purchasing shares on their behalf and subsequently failed to purchase those shares, instead using the funds for his own benefit. <br>• failed to lodge four of his income tax returns, nine of his business activity statements and eight of his superannuation guarantee statements buy their respective due dates.<br>• failed to lodge two income tax returns, eight business activity statements and six SMSF annual returns for his related entities by their respective due dates.<br>• failed to pay outstanding taxation debts for himself and his related entities, totalling over $1 million, as and when they fell due, including superannuation guarantee amounts owed to employees totalling over $350,000. <br>• failed to return business records to a company client despite repeated requests for him to do so. <br>• failed to provide evidence to show that he had completed sufficient continuing professional education activities that meet the TPB’s requirements. <br>Taking into account the above matters, the TPB also determined that Mr Carter should be prohibited from applying for registration for a period of five years from the date the termination takes effect.<br>The TPB considered Mr Carter’s conduct was serious, fraudulent, and demonstrated dishonesty and deception. His actions undermined the integrity of the tax agent profession, and caused detriment to his clients and the ATO. The TPB considered Mr Carter would remain an unacceptable risk to the public if he remained registered.<br>