Accountants welcome last-minute reprieve from new tax rules, but fear extra costs and red tape

Accountants and bookkeepers have welcomed a last-minute reprieve from eight new obligations scheduled to begin in August, but feel more should be done to shield small practices from further ‘red tape’.

A legislative instrument signed by Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones, containing eight new obligations for tax practitioners on top of the existing Code of Professional Conduct, came into effect on Thursday.

The Assistant Treasurer says all eight obligations were shared with industry practitioners in a draft consultation period, and that a transitional period was always built into the rule change.

Nevertheless, the directive — revealed just weeks before the rules came into effect — appeared to surprise accountants and bookkeepers already dealing with the tax-time rush.