iscover Punished tax return preparer pockets almost $50k
TaxHiding his identity behind his clients’ myGov accounts, one tax preparer has been caught red-handed and made $150,000 poorer by the Federal Court after providing and promoting unregistered tax agent services.
Obtaining a client list of 12, including one business, and charging nearly $50,000 for providing tax return preparation services while unregistered under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (the TAS Act), one tax preparer has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay nearly $150,000 in pecuniary penalties.
As previously reported by Accountants Daily, Benjamin Charles Hinckfuss has been found to have breached the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 for advertising and providing tax agent services on 12 separate occasions despite being unregistered.
His dodgy business model did not go unnoticed by the Tax Practitioners Board, which uncovered that Hinckfuss had used his clients’ myGov accounts to process tax returns and business activity statements (BAS), shielding his identity from the digital record.
“By engaging in this conduct in this way, it would have the appearance that each client was lodging the necessary tax return or amendment themselves,” Federal Court of Australia Justice Amelia Wheatley found.
“The contravening conduct engaged in was deliberate, serious and systematic. It was done in a way which was designed to go undetected,” Wheatley said.
The returns
In her 30 September 2026 decision, Justice Wheatley found that Hinckfuss had provided a tax agent service for income tax returns or amended income tax returns for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 financial years for 11 clients, and a BAS return for a client for the months ending 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December 2021.
Justice Wheatley found that Hinckfuss earned a total of $43,955.95 from these engagements in his capacity as a tax preparer, never being registered under the TAS Act.
He charged his clients between $1,151 and $11,921 for these unregistered services.
The court found that Hinckfuss lodged returns for all but two of the identified clients, returns which were all audited, which led to some being required to pay additional tax to the Commissioner of Taxation.
“The contraventions by Mr Hinckfuss did cause loss or damage to the identified clients, including by the fees charged,” Justice Wheatley said.
“The Board submits that the contraventions by Mr Hinckfuss were deliberate, serious and systematic. I accept that submission,” she said.
Wheatley noted that Hinckfuss had not engaged or participated, cooperated with, or appeared for the proceeding at all, nor did he accept his conduct as a contravention of the TAS Act, and failed to display any remorse.
Thus, for the contraventions of the TAS Act, Justice Wheatley determined that Hinckfuss pay $150,000 in total penalties and ruled that an order for the Tax Practitioner’s legal costs should be made.
The $150,000 penalty included $144,000 for the 11 contraventions of providing a tax agent service for income tax returns or amended income tax returns for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 financial years and a BAS Service, and $6,000 for the contravention of advertising.
The case citation: Tax Practitioners Board v Hinckfuss (No 3) [2026] FCA 1436 (30 September 2026)
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?Make Accountants Daily a preferred news source on Google.
