Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Accountability and Fairness) 2023

# Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Accountability and Fairness) 2023 ## What it does This bill tightens rules around tax agents, promoters and whistleblowers following the PwC tax scandal. It makes it harder for tax schemes to dodge rules by claiming they match official rulings, strengthens protections for people reporting dodgy tax advice, and gives the Tax Practitioners Board more power to investigate and publicly report on misconduct. ## Why it matters Tax agents and promoters have significant influence over how ordinary Australians and businesses handle their tax. Stronger oversight and clearer penalties make it riskier for them to push aggressive schemes, which should improve the integrity of the tax system overall. ## Key details **Penalty tightening**: Tax scheme promoters can now be penalised if they market a scheme as matching an official tax ruling but it actually works in a materially different way in practice. **Whistleblower protections**: The bill extends safeguards for people who report tax misconduct, making them more likely to come forward without fear of retaliation. **Tax board reforms**: The Tax Practitioners Board gets clearer timeframes for completing investigations and can now publicly publish the results, increasing accountability and transparency about who's breaching the rules. **Rollout timing**: Most changes kick in from 1 July 2024 onwards, with information-sharing rules starting immediately after the bill becomes law.

🔒 Voting closed — this bill has been decided by parliament