More jail time for Brisbane man operating as an unregistered tax agent

The Federal Court of Australia sentenced a Brisbane man to seven months in prison and issued his company with a $5,000 fine for lodging client tax returns despite a court injunction restraining them from doing so.

The injunction permanently restrains Kent Scott Hacker and his company, One Stop Global Staffing (OSGS), from providing tax agent services for a fee or other reward. The injunction was granted in December 2020 but the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) discovered Mr Hacker was continuing to lodge returns in January of this year.

The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) charged Mr Hacker and OSGS with contempt of court for breaching the injunction by preparing two client tax returns for a fee, which the court described as a “wilful and flagrant” disregard to the orders.

This sentence is the latest in a string of court penalties imposed on Mr Hacker for operating as an unregistered agent. 

In February 2019, the TPB took Mr Hacker to court after finding evidence that he had lodged returns for thousands of taxpayers despite not being registered with the TPB. He continued to provide these services to clients even after telling the court he would stop. 

The TPB then sought a court order forcing Mr Hacker to display large notices in his office warning taxpayers against using his services.

In June 2020, the Federal Court ruled that Mr Hacker and his businesses had repeatedly been in contempt of court and contravened the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 more than 80 times. In December 2020, he was sentenced to seven and a half months in prison and his related companies were fined over $640,000. It was at this time the injunction was granted.

Chair of the TPB, Ian Klug, said the TPB strongly supported the additional term of imprisonment and fine handed down to Mr Hacker and his company.

“These types of criminal actions not only put the public at risk, but also undermine community confidence in the services and reputation of the tax profession,” Mr Klug said. 

“The TPB hope this serves as a deterrent to other unregistered preparers who believe they can operate outside of the law and take payment for tax agent services without TPB registration.”