Govt so far unmoving on TASA extension
The Federal Government appears determined to proceed with implementation of the Tax Agents Services Act (TASA) — despite the strong lobbying efforts of the key financial planning groups to extract a further extension to the implementation time-table.
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) confirmed it was seeking an extension of the TASA implementation arrangements last week and is understood to have strongly lobbied the office of the Assistant Treasurer, David Bradbury. However the legislation remains scheduled to be passed through the Parliament before the winter adjournment.
The FPA and the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) have continued to seek an extension of the implementation of the TASA changes on the basis of the complexity the arrangements would impose on their members — including dual regulation — at the same time as those planners are seeking to deal with the implementation of the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) changes.
The call for an extension of the implementation arrangements has also come as the time for submissions responding to new Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) guidelines around the new TASA requirements has closed.
The TPB in March released a proposed TPB Guideline of courses in Australian taxation law for financial planners that are approved by the Board — which outlined the TPB's approach to the educational eligibility requirements for financial planners to register with the Board.
At the time the FPA pointed out that the amendments to the TASA were yet to be tabled in Parliament, and therefore no additional education or qualification competency requirements were needed at that time.
The Federal Opposition has not yet signaled how it will treat those elements of the legislation currently on the Parliamentary time-table.
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