“Pile of new red tape”: Coalition pushes to disallow controversial rules for tax practitioners

The Coalition will seek to reverse a set of new and highly controversial rules for tax practitioners, arguing they will impose unnecessary red tape on accountants and bookkeepers.

A hotly contested legislative instrument, signed by Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones, imposes eight new rules for tax practitioners on top of their existing obligations under the sector’s Code of Professional Conduct.

The rule change comes as part of the government’s response to the PwC scandal, and its mission to ensure trust and integrity in the tax profession.

The measures were meant to apply from August 1.

But industry leaders argued the directive, which was only revealed in July, would strain the relationship between smaller tax practitioners and their clients.