D'couto and Tax Practitioners Board

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a decision by the Tax Practitioners Board to terminate the registration of a tax agent, Ms D'couto, and to prevent her from reapplying for registration for three years. The Board's decision followed an investigation prompted by referrals from the Australian Taxation Office concerning Ms D'couto's personal tax affairs and audits of her clients' work-related expense claims. The Tribunal was asked to review the Board's findings that Ms D'couto had breached specific provisions of the Code of Professional Conduct and consequently ceased to meet the registration requirement of being a fit and proper person.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether Ms D'couto had breached subsections 30-10(1), 30-10(2), and 30-10(7) of the Code of Professional Conduct, which relate to acting honestly and with integrity, complying with taxation laws in personal affairs, and providing tax agent services competently, respectively. Further, the Tribunal had to assess whether these breaches meant Ms D'couto was no longer a fit and proper person to be a registered tax agent, as required by subsection 20-5(1)(a) of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA). Finally, the Tribunal needed to decide if termination of her registration was appropriate and, if so, whether a three-year period prohibiting reapplication was warranted.

The Tribunal affirmed the Board's decision. It found that Ms D'couto had indeed breached the specified subsections of the Code. The investigation revealed issues with her personal tax compliance and the competence of tax agent services provided on her behalf, particularly concerning client work-related expense claims. These findings led the Tribunal to conclude that Ms D'couto no longer met the registration requirement of being a fit and proper person, having regard to her good fame, integrity, and character.

Consequently, the Tribunal ordered that Ms D'couto's tax agent registration be terminated. It further determined that she should be prevented from applying for re-registration for a period of three years, aligning with the sanctions available under the TASA for such breaches.