1. Tax Agent Services Act 2009 A focus on Reasonable Care Adrian Abbott
May 2013

2. Background Part VIIA ITAA 1936 Tax Agent Services Act 2009 Objectives
National Registration
Code of Professional Conduct
Honesty & Integrity
Independence
Conflict of Interest
Confidentiality
Competence: Reasonable Care
Not Knowingly Obstruct
Client’s Rights
PI Insurance
Respond to RPB
Sanctions & Penalties
Establishes Tax Practitioners Board
Pronouncements of Tax Practitioners Board

3. Safe Harbour Provisions
What is Safe Harbour and why is it important?
Taxation Administration Act 1953
False or Misleading Statements – Schedule 1 section
Late Lodgement – Schedule 1 section
Reasonable Care – The Big Issue
Examples of reasonable care issues and Questions

4. Interpretation of Tax Agent Services Act 2009
Code of Professional Conduct
Explanatory paper EP 01/2010
Honesty & Integrity – Independence - Conflict of Interest – Confidentiality
Not Knowingly Obstruct - Clients Rights - PI Insurance
Respond to Tax Practitioners Board
Competence: Reasonable Care
Understanding Clients State of Affairs TASA section 30-10(9)
Test for taxpayers
Test for professionals
Test between professionals
Examples – Re Arnett
-- Client information

5. Interpretation of Tax Agent Services Act 2009
Taxation laws applied correctly TASA section 30-10(10)
Martinezzo v C of T [2009] AATA 61
The Tribunal decides
Test of the “Ordinary person”
Where an Agent is uncertain

6. Interpretation of Tax Agent Services Act 2009
Exposure Draft - ED D15/2012
Reasonable Care – Client’s State of Affairs
Examples and Questions 1-12
Exposure Draft - ED D16/2012
Reasonable Care – Taxation Laws Applied Correctly
Examples and Questions 1-6

7. Record Keeping and the Code of Professional Conduct
Record Keeping – section 262A ITAA 1936
Commissioner’s Rulings
TR 96/7
TR 2005/9
PSLA 2008/14
Commissioner’s Guide for Small Business
Benchmarking – The ATO Audits of the Future
Commissioner’s Guide for Tax Practitioners
Best Practice - Question

8. Worrying Times Agents Under Pressure With Workload Issues
To Obtain Safe Harbour Protections
To Comply with Reasonable Care Provisions
To avoid Sanctions and Penalties
To defend a negligence action

9. The relationship you can count on