Tax and BAS agents will eventually be redundant

There are over 2 million small businesses that are actively trading in Australia as of June 2012,

according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. However, there are only 52,000 tax

professionals in Australia including over 14,000 Business Activity Statements (BAS) agents and

other professionals according to the Tax Practitioners Board’s 2012 annual report. The ratio of

BAS agents to the number of small businesses is negligible (0.007). It basically means that

there is not enough number of BAS agents to service small businesses with their BAS

compliance. The shortage of BAS agents will cause their fees to increase and many small

business owners particularly those who are starting out will try not to incur these fees. As

more small business owners try to save costs getting a BAS agent is at the bottom of the list.

Or worst not on the list at all. This trend impacts the perception on BAS agents by small

business owners and the value they provide. Accounts Unplugged director Renelo Peque is

publishing a book on how to do your own BAS using the tools and resources from government

agencies that we take for granted. It is going to come out either late 2013 or early 2014. The

book also serves as a guide to those who want to manage the whole process involved in

preparing and lodging Business Activity Statements (BAS) to save some

BAS agent fees.