Government Announcements
Exposure draft legislation: transitional measures for new tax agent services regime
12.02.2009
On 12 February 2009 the Assistant Treasurer released for public comment the transitional and consequential provisions and associated explanatory material to complement the Tax Agent Services Bill 2008, which was introduced into Parliament on 13 November 2008. Together, these Bills give effect to the new regulatory regime for the provision of tax agent services.
The draft Tax Agent Services (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Bill 2009 provides the transitional provisions and consequential amendments to facilitate the transition into the new regulatory regime. Two significant matters covered in the draft Bill are:
- transitional arrangements to allow tax agents and nominees registered under the current law to transition smoothly into the new regulatory regime, and similarly allow certain entities to be taken as registered Business Activity Statement agents under the new regime; and
- amendments to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 to introduce two “safe harbour” provisions, which constitute key features of the new regulatory regime. The safe harbour provisions exempt taxpayers who engage an agent from liability for administrative penalties for certain mistakes and omissions where the error is solely due to the agent’s carelessness.
For the Assistant Treasurer’s media release, click here. The media release contains a link to the draft Bill and associated material.
