THE ETHICAL ENVIRONMENT OF TAX PRACTITIONERS - WESTERN-AUSTRALIAN EVIDENCE

This study examines Australian tax agents' perceptions of the ethical environment in which they practice, within the context of an income ta x system based on self-assessment principles. The research identifies and ranks an inventory of ethical issues in terms of perceived frequen cy of occurrence and importance to Western Australian tax agents. In a ddition, the extent and influence of ethical concerns in the professio n are evaluated. The study has determined that the most frequently cit ed ethical issue is the failure to make reasonable enquiries where inf ormation or documentation provided by a client appears to be inaccurat e or incomplete. The most important ethical problem is a failure to en sure confidentiality with regard to privileged client information. Whe n the frequency of occurrence and importance means are compared, inade quate technical competence, failure to make reasonable enquiries/condu ct research, continuing to act for a client where there is incorrect i nformation, and conflicts in distinguishing between tax planning and t ax avoidance emerge as the ''high frequency/high importance'' issues. Although acknowledging the potential for unethical actions in tax prac tice, Western Australian tax agents consider that they carry out their professional activities within an ethical environment.