Mathew will be presenting his research on tax practitioners' criminal liability at the 36th Australasian Tax Teachers Association (15 - 17 January 2025)
in Canberra. His work articulates the modern scope of the potential criminal liability of tax practitioners. It explores federal criminal offences relevant to lawyers and accountants practising in taxation and areas related to taxation (such as insolvency). In so doing it engages with moral culpability, and moreover the fault elements, which must coexist with applicable physical elements for those offences to be established. In the context of tax practitioners’ work (and tax-related work), the research focuses on liability under the federal criminal law of complicity and conspiracy. It concludes that there is a wide scope for criminal liability, which does not align with traditional concepts of moral culpability (for example, a requirement for dishonesty). Applicable fault elements nonetheless temper the criminal risks by limiting the application of criminal offences, perhaps more than some commentators have contended.