<strong>Period of Effect:</strong> 02/02/2024 to 02/02/2029<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> 02/02/2024<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><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></ul><br/><strong>Event affecting registrations:</strong> <ul><li>20-45(e) Company has gone into external administration</li></ul><br/><strong>Registration requirement not met:</strong> <ul><li>20-5(3)(b) Company has ceased to meet registration requirement that the company is not under external administration</li></ul><br/><strong>Explanation:</strong> On 7 December 2023, after completing an investigation, the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) terminated the tax agent registration of Talbots Pty Ltd (the Company) and prohibited it from applying for registration for a period of five years. The Company was found to have breached subsections 30-10(1), 30-10(2), 30-10(7), and 30-10(11) of the Code of Professional Conduct (the Code) in the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA). The TPB also determined the Company ceased to meet the tax practitioner registration requirement under paragraph 20-5(3)(b) of the TASA, namely that it had gone into external administration. The TPB also determined this was a section 20-45 event. <br><br>The TPB found that the Company breached the Code when it: <br>1. failed to act honestly and with integrity, by lodging a business activity statement (BAS), which the ATO subsequently audited and resulted in tax shortfalls and penalties. The sole director of the Company, Mr Peter Scott was also found to have taken steps to prevent and obstruct the Commissioner of Taxation (Commissioner) from learning of the shortfall amount.<br>2. failed to comply with the taxation laws in the conduct of its personal affairs by:<br>a. overreporting GST credits on a BAS, which the ATO subsequently audited, resulting in tax shortfalls and penalties imposed <br>b. failing to comply with its superannuation employer obligations for four quarterly periods. <br>c. failing to lodge its superannuation guarantee statements for three quarterly periods.<br>d. failing to lodge multiple statements to the Commissioner by their respective due dates, including 1 income tax return (ITR), 1 fringe benefits return (FBT), and 14 BAS and/or instalment activity statements (IAS), and 3 superannuation guarantee statements.<br>e. failing to pay its ATO taxation debts totalling over $1.6 million as and when they fell due.<br>3. failed to ensure that a tax agent service that the Company provided, or that was provided on the Company’s behalf, was provided competently by:<br>a. preparing and lodging an ITR for a client containing deductions that the ATO subsequently found the client was not entitled to or were incorrectly classified. <br>b. preparing and lodging 12 quarterly BAS for a client, which the ATO subsequently amended, resulting in a tax shortfall and that client’s company’s GST registration being cancelled because it was not carrying on a business.<br>c. preparing and lodging 14 quarterly BAS for a client with GST Credits, which the ATO subsequently disallowed due to that client not holding any tax invoices for the reported purchases at the time of lodgement. <br>4. knowingly obstructed the proper administration of the taxation laws by lodging a BAS, which the ATO subsequently audited and resulted in a tax shortfall, a shortfall penalty for recklessness, and increased the penalty by 20% in circumstances where the Commissioner made findings that Mr Scott, as sole director of the Company, had repeatedly failed to supply information requested by the ATO and had taken steps to prevent or obstruct the Commissioner from learning of the shortfall amount.<br><br>Having regard to the breaches set out above, the TPB terminated the Company’s registration in accordance with subparagraph 60-125(2)(b)(ii), paragraph 40-15(1)(a) and 40-15(1)(b) of the TASA. Taking into consideration the seriousness of the Company’s conduct, the TPB determined that the Company be prohibited from re-applying for registration under subsection 40-25(1) of the TASA for a period of five years from the date the termination of the Company’s registration takes effect.<br>