Norman and Tax Practitioners Board - [2020] AATA 640

Norman and Tax Practitioners Board [2020] AATA 640 (20 March 2020)
Division:TAXATION AND COMMERCIAL DIVISION
File Number(s): 2019/7732 & 2019/7733
Re:Alan Norman and A G Norman & Associates Pty Ltd
APPLICANTS

Tax Practitioners BoardAnd
RESPONDENT

DECISION
Tribunal:Deputy President Dr P McDermott RFD
Date:20 March 2020
Place:Brisbane

The following order, made pursuant to section 41(2) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth), is desirable and appropriate for the purpose of securing the effectiveness of the hearing and determination of the application for review.
1.Subject to any further order of this Tribunal, the operation of the decisions of the Tax Practitioners Board dated 30 October 2019 terminating the applicants’ registration as tax agents is stayed until the decision of the Tribunal on the applications for review comes into operation.
2.The stay order is subject to the following conditions:-
(a)The applicants are:-
(i)not to accept any new taxation service clients whilst the stay is in effect, and
(ii)to lodge all required individual, company and trust income tax returns and business activity statements by their due date, or any extended date agreed to in writing by the ATO.

(b)The applicants must inform each of its practice clients of this stay decision.
(c)Upon request by the Tax Practitioners Board the applicants are to promptly provide to the Tax Practitioners Board evidence of the notification to the practice clients and provide a schedule with the name of each person or entity, the date they were notified and the manner in which they were notified.
(d)If any client requests further information about the stay, the applicants are not (without the prior written consent of an officer of the Tax Practitioners Board) to provide any explanatory information, other than the Tribunal reasons for decision relating to the making of these orders.
(e)The applicants are to provide to the Board a report with the names of any clients who have requested further information and a statement identifying the content of any information provided in response to their request, such report shall be provided within seven (7) days of providing further information.

3.Each party has liberty to apply.

............................[SGD]............................................
Deputy President Dr P McDermott RFD
Catchwords
PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – application for stay of decision – termination of registration as tax agent – breach of code of professional conduct – interests of persons affected by the review – applicant’s personal circumstances – public interest – stay granted, subject to conditions
Legislation
Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth)
Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth)
Cases
Dekanic v Tax Agents’ Board of New South Wales (1982) 62 FLR 154
Drake and Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (1979) 2 ALD 634
Drake v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (No 2)(1979) 2 ALD 60
Gould and Tax Practitioners Board [2019] AATA 1056.
Hopfner and Tax Practitioners Board [2019] AATA 851
Ristevski and Tax Practitioners Board [2019] AATA 5196
Re Scott and Australian Securities and Investments Commission [2009] AATA 798
Taxation Guru Pty Ltd and…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Keep reading for free

Create a free CaseChat account to read Norman and Tax Practitioners Board and more:

Read every judgment in full
Ask AI and get answers linked to paragraphs
See how each paragraph was cited in later cases
Download judgments as PDF or Word

Continue with Google

One click creates your free account or signs you in.

By continuing you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

Details

Case: [2020] AATA 640
Decision Date: 20 March 2020

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for a stay of a decision made by the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) to terminate the registration of Mr. Norman as a tax agent. The TPB's decision was based on findings that Mr. Norman had breached the Code of Professional Conduct. Mr. Norman sought to stay the TPB's decision pending the final determination of his application for review by the AAT.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether to grant a stay of the TPB's decision. In doing so, it had to weigh the interests of the persons affected by the review, Mr. Norman's personal circumstances, and the broader public interest. The central question was whether the balance of convenience favoured granting the stay, and if so, on what conditions.

Deputy President McDermott and Senior Member Rfd P reasoned that a stay should be granted because the potential prejudice to Mr. Norman if the termination took effect immediately, and he was later successful in his review, would be significant and difficult to remedy. They considered that the public interest in ensuring that tax agents meet professional standards was important, but that this could be adequately protected by imposing conditions on the stay. The Tribunal noted that the nature of the alleged breaches, while serious, did not necessarily warrant immediate and irreversible consequences for Mr. Norman's livelihood without a full hearing.

Consequently, the Tribunal ordered that the TPB's decision terminating Mr. Norman's registration as a tax agent be stayed, subject to certain conditions designed to mitigate any ongoing risks to the public interest and to ensure Mr. Norman's compliance with his professional obligations during the period of the stay.

Orders