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The agent gave false information in an attempt to obtain a $1.16 million loan and failed to disclose his sentence to the board.
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TPB deregisters tax agent after fraud conviction
30 September 2022
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9 minute read
The TPB has deregistered a NSW tax agent following serious misconduct that led to a criminal conviction for fraud and a 21-month sentence.
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Michael Unicomb was found guilty of dishonestly obtaining property, financial advantage, or causing financial hardship by deception in the District Court of NSW in April.
The offences involved Mr Unicomb submitting false information about the income and assets of a former client in an attempt to receive a $1.16 million loan from a bank.
Mr Unicomb pleaded guilty to the offence in court and admitted that he had submitted the false application to obtain the loan.
The court sentenced Mr Unicomb to 21 months’ imprisonment, but he was placed under an intensive corrections order due to a chronic medical condition that requires treatment every 36 hours.
The order means he will serve the sentence in the community under supervision rather than in jail.
Mr Unicomb failed to inform the TPB of his conviction or sentence, which is required by law.
He also made a false declaration in an application for registration renewal, where he said that there was no matter affecting his good name, integrity and character.
Furthermore, the TPB discovered that Mr Unicomb had failed to lodge his tax returns by their due date for multiple years, along with failing to maintain professional indemnity insurance as required by the TPB.
As a result, the board determined that he had failed to meet the tax practitioner registration requirement to be a fit and proper person and terminated Mr Unicomb’s registration. It applied the maximum ban of five years prohibiting him from reapplying for registration.
“This decision reinforces our work to maintain the integrity of the tax profession and to instil trust in the services tax practitioners provide,” said TPB chair Ian Klug.
“Mr Unicomb’s behaviour was brazen and premeditated — he deliberately submitted false information in a loan application to a bank and only obtained the loan funds because of the deception he practised upon the bank.
“He also deliberately withheld information from us when he knew this would impact his application for renewal of registration as a tax agent.
“We will not accept this type of behaviour from anyone in the tax profession. Mr Unicomb has let the system down by making deliberate choices to disregard his obligations as a trusted tax adviser.”
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