UNIT 4 12 BURTON STREET CANNINGTON Western Australia 6107
Other records
Expiry date
01/05/2023 (but continues to be registered until renewal application is determined by the Board)
Condition
Sanctions
None on record
Appeal
Board decision
CXL Reason
Disqualification
<strong>Period of Effect:</strong> 22/01/2024 to 22/01/2028<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> 22/01/2024<br/><strong>Reason:</strong> 40-15(1)(b) company 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></ul><br/><strong>Registration requirement not met:</strong> <ul><li>20-5(3)(a) Company has ceased to meet registration requirement that each director is a fit and proper person</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 Mun Accountants & Tax Advisers Pty Ltd (Mun Accountants) after finding that it had ceased to meet the tax practitioner registration requirement that each director must be a fit and proper person, following its finding that its sole director, Dr Michael Nwokeiwu, was not a fit and proper person. The TPB also determined that Mun Accountants had engaged in conduct that breached the Code of Professional Conduct (the Code) in the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA).<br>The TPB found that Mun Accountants had breached the Code by:<br>• making false declarations to the TPB in its 2019 annual declaration and in its 2020 application for registration renewal by failing to declare its overdue and outstanding business activity statement (BAS) lodgements.<br>• failing to lodge two of its income tax returns and 17 of its business activity statements by their respective due dates.<br>The TPB determined that Dr Nwokeiwu was no longer a fit and proper person on the basis that he:<br>• made false and misleading statements to the Commissioner of Taxation by failing to correctly report income, GST and fringe benefits tax in the income tax returns and BAS for himself and a related trust across the 2019 and 2020 financial years, resulting in a total tax shortfall exceeding $177,000.<br>• made false declarations to the TPB in numerous annual declarations and applications for tax agent registration renewal for himself and his related tax agent companies, Mun Accountants & Tax Advisers Pty Ltd and Aussie Tax Professionals Pty Ltd, by failing to declare overdue and outstanding tax lodgements for himself and his related entities.<br>• dishonestly preparing and lodging BAS that included unsubstantiated or inflated payments for wages for, and altering the operations of, Aussie Tax Professionals Pty Ltd, of which he was director, in an attempt to obtain JobKeeper and Cash Flow Boost payments that he knew or ought to have known that company was not eligible for.<br>• applied to the ATO for JobKeeper payments on behalf of a partnership of which he was a partner, and a trust of which he was trustee, when he knew or ought to have have known those entities did not meet the eligibility criteria for those payments.<br>• failed to lodge a total of 27 income tax returns, 78 business activity statements and four fringe benefits tax returns for himself and his related entities by their respective due dates. <br>• failed to pay his income tax debt as and when it fell due.<br>• failed to take reasonable care and ensure tax agent services were provided competently, and ensure taxation laws were applied correctly by failing to correctly report income and GST for two companies that were clients of his practice, resulting an increase in tax payable by those companies totalling more than $330,000.<br>• failed to maintain his knowledge and skills in relation to the tax agent services he provides by failing to undertake the required number of hours of continuing professional education between July 2018 and August 2023.<br>In making its decision, the TPB noted that its role is to ensure consumer protection and that it has an objective to protect and maintain the integrity of the registered tax practitioner profession. The TPB considered that Dr Nwokeiwu’s conduct in his capacity as the sole director of Mun Accountants showed a level of incompetence that would undermine the integrity of the tax profession and taxation system.<br>The TPB determined it was appropriate in the circumstances to impose a period of four years during which Mun Accountants is not able to reapply for tax agent registration.<br>Mun Accountants has applied to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for a review of the TPB’s decision, which is currently under consideration. On 28 March 2024, the AAT decided to refuse Mun Accountants’ application for a stay of the implementation of the Board’s decision.