POPULAR WORDS

CPA Australia today called for a blanket two-week extension for all tax agents for the June quarter BAS, due to Electronic Lodgment Service (ELS) software problems. Currently the two-week extension only applies to those who received their software late because the producers were unable to respond to all the tax changes in time. "That extension is not enough," CPA Australia's chief executive officer Greg Larsen says. "Our members are telling us that those who received their software on time have encountered numerous software glitches, including rejection of returns and inoperable schedules. "This is adding hours to the time they need to complete each BAS." The June quarter BAS is due on Monday, but the CPAs are calling urgently for the ATO to extend the deadline for all tax agents to Monday, August 27. Larsen says the CPAs are disappointed with the response from the ATO, which has "failed to recognise the extent of the problem and is being unfair to those struggling to lodge the fourth quarterly BAS." "This June BAS is the most demanding of all the quarterly BASs because it is the last one of the year," Larsen says. "They require extra reconciliation work and many practitioners are doing this BAS for their clients for the first time. "Many clients did the previous BAS themselves, and have handed over to their agent this time, in order to catch errors from their previous BASs." Approximately 6,000, or half, of all tax agents are currently not entitled to the extension. Along with their clients, they face penalties and interest if they do not make Monday's deadline.