FPA continues pursuit of enshrinement
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) has been lobbying the Abbott Coalition Government in a bid to have the legislation enshrining the term ‘financial planner/adviser' re-birthed after it failed to make it through the Senate before the calling of the Federal Election.
FPA chief executive Mark Rantall confirmed that the organisation had raised the issue of the "enshrinement" legislation in discussions with the Assistant Treasurer, Senator Arthur Sinodinos, along with a range of other matters including linking planner adherence to the Tax Agents Services Act (TASA) to the tax deductibility of advice.
Speaking to Money Management, Rantall said the FPA remained optimistic and would continue pursuing the "enshrinement" issue with the Government.
The Coalition, while not opposing the enshrinement legislation when it was introduced to the Parliament by the former Minister for Financial Services, Bill Shorten, signaled that it did not believe it was necessary.
On the question of the tax deductibility of advice, he said the FPA believed that if advisers were to become tax agents consistent with the TASA requirements, it followed that there was a strong argument for the provision of initial advice to be made tax deductible.
Rantall said the FPA had been a part of the wide-ranging consultation processes with the Government on the Coalition's 16-point plan to amend the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) legislation including the removal of "opt-in" and retrospective fee disclosure.
He said he believed Senator Sinodinos would be taking a suite of proposals regarding the changes to Cabinet in the next two weeks, with the consequent legislative and regulatory changes occurring next year.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
Recommended for you
The top five licensees are demonstrating a “strong recovery” from losses in the first half of the year, and the gap is narrowing between their respective adviser numbers.
With many advisers preparing to retire or sell up, business advisory firm Business Health believes advisers need to take a proactive approach to informing their clients of succession plans.
Retirement commentators have flagged that almost a third of Australians over 50 are unprepared for the longevity of retirement and are falling behind APAC peers in their preparations and advice engagement.
As private markets continue to garner investor interest, Netwealth’s series of private market reports have revealed how much advisers and wealth managers are allocating, as well as a growing attraction to evergreen funds.
