Perth-based tax preparer Jessa Dabalos was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment by Australia’s Federal Court earlier this month for acting as a tax agent while unregistered.
Dabalos prepared tax returns and provided advice to hundreds of clients based in Western Australia.
She was also known as Jess Van Stroe and Jessa Loyola while breaching the law.
Individuals that prepare returns for a fee and offer advice must be registered in Australia with the Tax Practitioners’ Board (TPB).
This was not Dabalos’ first offence, as she had been previously hit with court-imposed penalties for preparing returns without being registered.
“In previous decisions, the court found 531 breaches of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009, imposed a A$230,000 (US$147,000) penalty and a permanent injunction to prevent further misconduct,” the TPB media release on the case stated.
“Despite these significant sanctions, the court found Ms Dabalos continued her unregistered preparer misconduct on 365 occasions, acting in contempt, and [applied] an additional penalty of 12 months' imprisonment.”
TPB chairman Peter de Cure used the Dabalos’ decision to reinforce the rules related to getting a registration to practise as a tax adviser in Australia.
“Misconduct by unregistered preparers can involve the exploitation of vulnerable clients. Some unregistered preparers prey on clients who are unfamiliar with the tax system, lodge false returns with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), and expose clients to significant taxes, penalties and financial stress,” de Cure said.
“The TPB’s compliance strategy will identify and address unregistered preparer misconduct to protect the community and support the integrity of the tax profession and the tax system.
“Unregistered preparers could face injunctions, significant penalties and jail if acting criminally or in contempt.”
This court outcome is the result of the TPB’s investigative work, but it is still pursuing five more cases related to the PwC scandal and it is unclear whether those cases have been resolved.
The calling of the Federal Election in Australia, set to take place in May, meant that the TPB and the ATO did not present before Senate Estimates on their work.
This would have included an update from the TPB about the status of the remaining investigations arising from the original PwC matter.
The scandal saw former PwC partner Peter Collins lose his tax agent registration and his old firm hit with an order to enhance training and monitoring of conflicts of interest.
In October last year, the TPB announced it had concluded four out of nine PwC probes with no further action to be taken against the firm.
