The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) has launched its new Corporate Plan for 2022-23. The plan is aimed at helping ensure that consumers of tax practitioner services enjoy excellent service. It also seeks to build more trust with the community in the tax profession and boost the integrity of the tax system.
The Corporate Plan will over the next year be used to help ease the regulatory burden on tax practitioners by reducing red tape while still maintaining set standards. Tax professionals will benefit from educational opportunities that will help keep them compliant. Automation will also be advanced to help make client interactions easier and more streamlined.
According to TPB chairman, Ian Klug, the board would pursue a data-driven detection strategy and act on malpractice by rogue practitioners. He acknowledged that there could be a minority of tax practitioners that did not meet the standards required for ethics and professionalism and that the TPB would need to take a harder line in removing them from the tax system. Klug assures the public any wrongdoing on the part of practitioners, including unregistered preparers, would be addressed to the full extent of the board’s powers and resources.
He added that the TPB would continue to work closely with the Australian Tax Office (ATO) and other governmental associates to ensure a robust system of regulation. He expressed hope that this would build community confidence in the tax system and help ensure that high standards were being maintained within the profession. Klug termed the plan as a win for all parties involved, including the government, consumers, and tax professionals.
The TPB intends to develop a regulatory program built on such initiatives as the Tax Practitioner Governance and Standards Forum that was established last year and the 2021-24 TPB Strategic Plan. This will be done in consultation with other stakeholders and partners.
As part of improving its registration system, the TPB has also given itself a target of an 80% renewal rate in 30 days and a further 95% renewal in 60 days. The authority is also hoping to increase the amount of unregistered preparers that will be identified and compliance investigations. It also intends to establish performance targets for sanctions when practitioners contravene the code of professional conduct.
Klug added that the TPB had commissioned a workforce review that would be used to reshape the body’s structure and identify the changing demands faced by those in the tax profession. This review is expected to help make the TPB more efficient, capable and modernised.
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