Government to proceed with controversial tax agent reforms after promising further concessions.

A Coalition-led effort to overturn new regulations for tax agents narrowly failed in Parliament on Tuesday, following the government's promise to collaborate with accounting industry groups to ease some of the more contentious aspects of the rules. For months, tax industry organizations have opposed the new regulations introduced by Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones. These rules, aimed at addressing tax agent misconduct in the wake of the PwC scandal, tighten requirements on disclosing false or misleading client tax statements. They also mandate that tax agents inform clients of any potential conflicts of interest and enhance their record-keeping systems. Industry groups argued that these rules go beyond the current Code of Conduct and place an undue burden on small accounting firms that lack the resources of larger consultancies. The disagreement culminated in a Senate vote on Liberal Senator Dean Smith’s proposal to block the new rules. The motion resulted in a 31-31 tie, with Labor, the Greens, and independent Senator David Pocock opposing it. The deadlock prevented Senator Smith's motion from succeeding, leaving the new rules in place.