The major accounting organisations have mounted a counter to moves by the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) to extend the implementation of the Tax Agents Services Act (TASA) as it applies to financial planners.
Both CPA Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia (ICAA) yesterday issued a statement suggesting that any delay was unnecessary and would only serve to generate uncertainty.
"Australians' access to high quality professional tax advice faces uncertainty, with a last-minute push by the financial services industry to defer the introduction of the new regulatory framework for financial planners providing tax advice," a joint statement from the two organisations said.
The statement continued, "the new rules, currently being considered in Parliament, will ensure consumers are afforded appropriate protections regarding tax advice and provide a level playing field for those in the industry".
CPA Australia head of policy Paul Drum claimed the calls for deferring the reforms would undermine the capacity of consumers to rely on appropriate safeguards relating to tax advice they receive from thousands of financial planners right across Australia.
"The new regulatory framework is set to start on 1 July 2013 and has been in development for over three years," Drum clarified.
"There has been extensive consultation with all stakeholders and sufficient time for the financial planning industry to transition into compliance with the new rules."
Similarly, ICAA general manager of leadership and quality, Yasser El-Ansary, said calls to defer the introduction of the new regulatory framework "fundamentally jeopardises much-needed consumer protection in this area".
"Consumers deserve to have access to high quality professional tax advice that is regulated by appropriately high standards," he said.
"It's time for the financial services industry to step-up to the plate and lift their standards in the delivery of tax advice to consumers," El-Ansary said. "The accounting profession has complied with these regulatory frameworks for decades. Financial planners must not walk away from these vitally important reforms now, at this eleventh hour."
