Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand * The Tax Institute *
Registration date
01/01/2004
Status
Address
Level 5 219 Castlereagh St Sydney New South Wales 2000
Other records
Expiry date
01/02/2022
Condition
Sanctions
None on record
Appeal
Board decision
CXL Reason
Disqualification
<strong>Period of Effect:</strong> 18/05/2023 to 18/08/2028<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> 18/05/2023<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(4) - You must act lawfully in the best interests of your client</li><li>30-10(7) - You must ensure that a tax agent service that you provide, or that is provided on your behalf, is provided competently</li><li>30-10(9) - You must take reasonable care in ascertaining a client's state of affairs, to the extent that ascertaining the state of those affairs is relevant to a statement you are making or a thing you are doing on behalf of the client</li><li>30-10(11) - You must not knowingly obstruct the proper administration of the taxation laws</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 30 March 2023, after completing an investigation, the Tax Practitioners Board (the TPB) decided to terminate the tax agent registration of Menio Papaklonaris (Mr Papaklonaris). The TPB found Mr Papaklonaris had breached subsections 30-10(1), 30-10(2), 30-10(4), 30-10(7), 30-10(9), 30-10(11) of the Code of Professional Conduct (Code) in the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA). The TPB also determined he was no longer eligible for registration, as he no longer satisfied the TPB that he met the tax practitioner registration requirement that he was a fit and proper person. The TPB imposed a period of five years during which he may not apply for registration. <br>The TPB found Mr Papaklonaris had breached the Code by:<br>1. making false and misleading statements:<br>a. to the Commissioner of Taxation (Commissioner) by failing to declare over $16 million of reportable income in income tax returns (ITRs) lodged with the Commissioner over a number of years. This resulted in a tax shortfall of over $7.4 million and penalties of over $6.6 million <br>b. to financial institutions, by providing ITRs, financial statements and making declarations to financial institutions provided materially different information about his income and the income of related entities compared with declarations made to the Commissioners.<br>c. to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) when, in his capacity as director of ASIC agent MKP Associates Pty Ltd, he lodged a form dated 30 October 2018 notifying ASIC of his resignation as director of a related entity back-dated to 30 June 2017; and<br>d. a financial institution on 8 September 2017 when he completed an account application and declared that he was the sole director and shareholder of the related entity in the knowledge that it is an offence to give false and misleading information.<br>e. To the TPB by failing to declare his outstanding personal taxation obligations in forms lodged with the Board over several years.<br>2. taking steps to prevent or obstruct the Commissioner from finding out about shortfalls in tax obligations that resulted from not disclosing income:<br>a. for at least the years ending 30 June 2014, 30 June 2015 and 30 June 2016, by maintaining two or more sets of financial records and providing financial institutions with a different set of tax returns to those provided to the Commissioner.<br>b. for the years ending 30 June 2014 to 30 June 2021, he lodged false or misleading information with the Commissioner with respect to his assessable income<br>3. failing to comply with his personal taxation obligations by not:<br>a. declaring over $16 million of reportable income to the Commissioner in ITRs lodged with the Commissioner over a number of years. This resulted in a tax shortfall of over $7.4 million and penalties of over $6.6 million<br>b. lodging 10 personal ITRs by their due dates for the income years 2010 to 2019 inclusive<br>c. lodging ITRs and business activity statements by their due dates for a related trust and a number of related companies over several years <br>4. relying on the false or misleading ITRs the lodged with the Commissioner and the Notices of Assessment (NOAs) issue by the Commissioner which had the effect of reducing child support obligations. <br>5. in lodging an ITR for a client, he failed to ensure the client’s income was correctly stated when he was, or ought to have been aware of the client’s income in being the director of the client’s employer. In doing so he:<br>a. made false and misleading statements to the Commissioner<br>b. failed to act lawfully in the best interests of the client<br>c. failed to ensure that a tax agent service he provided to the client was provided competently <br>d. failed to take reasonable care in ascertaining the client’s state of affairs, to the extent that ascertaining the state of those affairs was relevant to statements he made or things he did on behalf of the client<br>The TPB also found Mr Papaklonaris failed to act in the best interests of a joint property development venture consisting of related entities and company clients. <br>Mr Papaklonaris failed to cause the joint venture to lodge three business activity statements. In doing so, over $20 million in property sales were not disclosed. This resulted in the joint venture incurring a debt to the Commissioner in the amount of approximately $1.9 million and a penalties of approximately $1.5 million. <br>The TPB found Mr Papaklonaris’ actions which breached the Code and his failure to cause the property development joint venture to comply with tax obligations, were systemic, long standing and showed a deficiency in character and professional conduct.<br>The TPB found that Mr Papaklonaris’ conduct included creditor defeating dispositions, manipulation of corporate records and false accounting including the carriage of two or more sets of financial records with material differences. <br>Accordingly, the TPB decided to terminate Mr Papaklonaris’ tax agent registration in accordance with subparagraph 60-125(2)(b)(ii) and paragraph 40-5(1)(b) of the TASA on the basis he ceased to meet the registration requirement under paragraph 20-5(1)(a).<br>Further, in consideration of the severity of Mr Papaklonaris’ conduct the TPB also determined, in accordance with subsection 40-25(1) of the TASA, that Mr Papaklonaris should be prohibited from reapplying for registration under the TASA for a period of five years from date the termination of his registration takes effect. <br><br>