Clarity still needed on TASA
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) is continuing to work with both Treasury and the Tax Practitioners Board with a view to getting greater clarity around requirements under the Tax Agent Services Act (TASA).
FPA chief executive Mark Rantall said that his organisation remained hopeful of gaining greater clarity around competency and other requirements of TASA before it came into effect on 1 July, 2014.
He said that while there was a lengthy transition period attaching to the TASA legislation, the FPA regarded it as imperative that financial planners had clarity around some of the key obligations which would be imposed on them under the new regime, particularly the competency requirements.
A key sticking point for the FPA and other financial planning organisations relates to planners being required to have competency with respect to commercial law qualifications — something which Rantall said he did not believe was necessary because it was something planners did not deal with on a daily basis.
He said another issue was the sufficient number requirement — something which was likely to pose a challenge for some larger groups.
"We are working with the Treasury and the TPB and it would be good to be able to provide clarity on this well before the 1 July," Rantall said.
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