<strong>Period of Effect:</strong> 22/11/2023 to 22/11/2025<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> 22/11/2023<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(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>20-15(a) Fit and Proper - good fame, integrity and character</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 28 September 2023, after completing an investigation, the Tax Practitioners Board (the Board) decided to terminate the BAS agent registration of Ms Megan Spencer. The Board found that Ms Spencer breached subsections 30-10(1), 30-10(2), 30-10(3) and 30-10(9) of the Code of Professional Conduct (the Code) in the TASA. The Board also determined Ms Spencer was no longer eligible for registration, as she no longer satisfied the Board that she meets the registration requirement that she is a fit and proper person. The Board also imposed a period of two (2) years during which Ms Spencer may not apply for registration.<br>The Board found that Ms Spencer breached the Code by:<br>1. incurring significant debts through director penalty notices (DPN) for PAYGW and GST<br>2. in her capacity as a director of The Tax Shop (Darwin) Pty Ltd (the Company):<br>a. adding a director to the Company who the Board had previously found a not fit and proper person and deliberately failing to notify the Board of the appointment of the director<br>b. providing false and misleading responses to the Board’s enquiries<br>c. adding, removing and accessing ATO taxpayer records without obtaining taxpayer authorisation<br>d. failing to lodge income tax returns, business activity statements and instalment activity statements by their respective due dates<br>e. failing to pay its integrated client account debt by its respective due date<br>f. failing to notify the Board within 30 days of a change in circumstances <br>g. failing to account to a client for Commonwealth funds received on trust <br>h. failing to take reasonable care in ascertaining the state of affairs for three clients by relying on insufficient and/or inappropriate information, or no information to determine clients’ employer, salary and wage income and tax withheld<br>In consideration of the seriousness and repeated nature of Ms Spencer’s conduct the Board determined that Ms Spencer:<br>• had ceased to meet the registration requirements that she is a fit and proper person based on her breaches of the Code and accordingly decided to terminate Ms Spencer’s BAS agent registration in accordance with subparagraph 60-125(2)(b)(ii) and 40-5(1)(b) of the TASA<br>• should also be prohibited from re-applying for registration in accordance with subsection 40-25(1) of the TASA for a period of two (2) years from the date the termination of her registration takes effect.<br>