THE Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) has terminated the registration of tax agent Reis Cibala Kaluka and banned him for two years after investigations revealed he allowed an unregistered preparer, Namro Services Pty Ltd (Namro Services), to provide tax practitioner services on his behalf.

Namro Services had previously been terminated by the TPB.

Mr Kaluka allowed Namro Services – who he knew to have been terminated by the TPB – to use his registered agent number and access client data via the Australian Taxation Office’s Online services for agents. Namro Services then invoiced and received client tax refunds directly, resulting in four client refunds being misappropriated.

Namro Services also amended two client income tax returns (ITRs) during pre-issue audits and amended four client business activity statements (BAS) resulting in cash flow boost payments being disallowed.

TPB chair, Ian Klug said, "Mr Kaluka’s failure to act honestly and with integrity and to provide adequate supervision over the unregistered preparer caused significant detriment to multiple clients. Such behaviour puts the Australian community at risk and casts a shadow over those tax agents who do good work.

"The TPB has a duty not only to maintain the integrity of the registered tax practitioner profession, but to also protect consumers who fall victim to unlawful tax practitioners like Mr Kaluka."

TPB investigations also revealed that Mr Kaluka failed to lodge BAS, ITRs and tax file number (TFN) declarations relating to his own personal affairs and two companies of which he is the sole director.

"By failing to ensure his associated entities were complying with their tax affairs, those entities were subsequently placed into liquidation. He then allowed one company to engage in insolvent trading. This clearly demonstrates a pattern of widespread and reckless behaviour," Mr Klug said.

Based on the findings of the investigation, the TPB determined that Mr Kaluka is no longer fit to provide tax agent services, terminated his registration, and prohibited him from applying for re-registration for two years.

To report a dishonest or unregistered tax practitioner, submit a complaint to the TPB.

About the Tax Practitioners Board

The TPB regulates tax practitioners in order to protect consumers. The TPB aims to assure the community that tax practitioners meet appropriate standards of professional and ethical conduct.  Twitter_@TPB_gov_au, LinkedIn and Facebook.

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THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue has today (Monday) presented its report titled The Development of the Australian Corporate Bond Market: A Way Forward.

Corporate bonds are a type of debt security, issued by entities to finance their business operations. In its report, the committee makes 12 recommendations to support the development of a more active corporate bond market in Australia.  

The committee’s recommendations aim to remove barriers to the issuing of corporate bonds as well as raise awareness about the benefits of corporate bonds, both for investors and issuers. Specifically, the committee’s recommendations include ensuring that investors have access to timely and useful information about corporate bonds, lowering the minimum investment parcel to $1,000 for corporate bonds, to improve accessibility to more investors, reviewing the licensing regime for credit rating agencies to minimise access barriers, and streamlining disclosure requirements for the issuing of simple corporate bonds. 

The committee’s recommendations also include proposed amendments to the relevant regulations to allow for the early redemption of simple corporate bonds, as well as a review of Chapter 2L of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) with the aim of increasing the availability of trustees for the retail bond market.

Further, the committee recommends a review of the regulatory reforms implemented in New Zealand’s corporate bond market to further develop and make more liquid Australia’s corporate bond market.

Committee chair, Jason Falinski MP, advocated for regulatory changes in this space.

"It is the hope of this committee that the government will commence implementing recommendations as soon as possible as each recommendation will result in unleashing the considerable power of the corporate bond market in Australia," Mr Falinski said.

A full copy of the committee’s report can be found on the inquiry’s website.

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ON TUESDAY the House Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs will hold the third public hearing for its inquiry into constitutional reform and referendums.

The Committee will speak with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) to learn about its role in public education about referendums and the operational aspects of referendum delivery.

Chair of the committee, Andrew Wallace MP said it was necessary to inquire into the mechanics of referendums and whether the current legislation and processes were fit for purpose.

"The committee has heard from other government agencies about the policy environment for constitutional reform. The AEC will be able to provide information on the delivery and mechanics of a referendum and how it engages and educates the public about these processes," Mr Wallace said.

Further information about the inquiry, including the terms of reference and a program for the committee’s hearing, is available on the inquiry webpage at: www.aph.gov.au/constitutionalreform.

Public hearing details

Date: Tuesday, 26 October 2021
Time: 4.30pm to 5.30pm (AEDT)

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, committee proceedings held in Parliament House are not currently open to the public. The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

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WHILE THE NEWS fully vaccinated Australians can soon travel internationally without having to quarantine is very welcome, it’s unfortunately a long runway to recovery for Australia’s travel agents and businesses.

Australia’s travel agents and businesses have been in hard lockdown for more than 600 days. This hard lockdown will continue until international travel returns to normal levels with pre-COVID flight volumes, seat capacity and the removal of the current requirement that non-Australians even if fully vaccinated must hotel quarantine
 
Life for Australia’s travel agents only returns to normal after international travel is back in full swing. This is because travel agents only receive the bulk of payments generated from bookings AFTER travel takes place. 
 
Until international travel normalises which the Prime Minister has said won’t happen before March 2022, travel agents and businesses need ongoing support.

“With Singapore coming on line soon, and multiple destinations opening up for Australians, we are all looking forward to getting those passports out and getting travelling again," AFTA CEO Dean Long said.

“Travel expertise to navigate the complexities of COVID-travel is needed now more than ever and as events and tourism begin to ramp up again, travel agents will be essential. Our members are easy to find and everywhere from on-line to on the high street and proud to be using our travel expertise to support Australians through COVID travel and beyond.

“However, Australia’s travel agents and businesses have been in hard lockdown for more than 600 days and until airlines and cruise capacity return to normal levels, which won’t be before the second quarter of 2022, we need support," Mr Long said.
 
“The 30,000 Australians who work in Australia’s travel sector and the 3,000 agencies and businesses who employ them urgently need ongoing Government help so we can keep providing the expert support travellers need as tourism gets back on track and recovers.”

Prior to COVID, the industry has experienced year on year growth of 11 percent and maintained growth of 7.25 percent over the past five years. In 2018-19, Australians spent more than $46 billion on international travel, representing the largest import sector of the Australian economy.

About 70% of this international travel was booked through Australian travel agents. Each year travel agents collect taxes worth $1 billion and contribute $28 Billion nationally to the economy.

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