Tax Practitioners Board integrity decision upheld by Federal Court

Sydney tax agent Hany Mina, who was the director of Logic Accountants & Tax Professionals (Logic), appealed the decision handed down by the TPB to terminate his registration and ban him from reapplying for two years to the Federal Court.

He faced the TPB after failing to lodge outstanding tax obligations over several years. This included four income tax returns and 27 business activity statements (BAS) for Mr Mina and 75 BAS for Logic. 

Mr Mina and Logic have a long history of non-compliance with their personal tax obligations, and clients of Logic had been audited multiple times due to excessive work-related expense claims. Audits of Logic’s clients resulted in a tax shortfall of approximately $193,000, with $65,000 of penalties being imposed. 

The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) found Mr Mina was not a fit and proper person to hold registration as a tax agent due to poor compliance with taxation laws.

Mr Mina appealed the TPB’s decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). The tribunal upheld the TPB’s decision. In making its decision, the tribunal considered that Mr Mina had sought to blame the clients for the incorrect claims and had not made any acknowledgement or demonstrated any remorse for the impact their conduct had upon the clients. Further, the breaches spanned over 10 years, and Mr Mina’s technical knowledge fell short of what is required of a registered tax agent. 

Following this finding, Mr Mina subsequently appealed to the Federal Court. The court found no grounds for appeal and affirmed the TPB and AAT decisions, dismissing the appeal and awarding costs to the TPB. 

The chair of the TPB, Ian Klug, welcomed the Federal Court’s decision.

“This judgment supports the work of the TPB in upholding the integrity of the system. We are committed to protecting clients and the public from misconduct and unlawful advice, which can expose clients to additional tax and penalties,” he said.

“Most tax practitioners understand they hold a privileged position of trust. These tax practitioners breached that trust by consistently failing to comply with their own tax obligations.

“Last year, the TPB investigated around 2,600 cases to support professional honesty and integrity. In these types of cases, where misconduct continues over an extended period, tax practitioners will be banned to ensure trust and confidence in the profession and in the tax and superannuation system. This year, the TPB has a particular focus on tax practitioners who facilitate tax evasion, and those who consistently fail their own tax responsibilities.”