Thousands of Western Australian taxpayers duped by fake agent

On Monday, the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) confirmed it is contacting those who used the services of Jessa Van Stroe (aka Jessa Layola) who was illegally preparing tax returns.

On 23 August, Ms Van Stroe was issued an order to stop preparing and lodging tax returns by the Federal Court as “she is not and never has been registered with the TPB”.

“It is important for anyone who has used the services of unregistered preparers, like Ms Van Stroe, to review their tax returns,” Curtin Law School’s head of taxation discipline, Professor Dale Pinto, said.

“Unregistered preparers do not have the necessary skills or expertise to provide tax advice, and by using her services, these taxpayers have no protection against penalties which could be applied for mistakes Ms Van Stroe may have made.”

The TPB is also working with Curtin University’s Curtin Tax Clinic (CTC) which is offering free tax advice for people impacted by Ms Van Stroe.

“CTC is happy to provide free assistance in situations like this, as it aims to assist unrepresented taxpayers in meeting or complying with their tax affairs,” CTC co-founders Annette Morgan and Donovan Castelyn said.

“In return, the experiential learning opportunities for students who work under the supervision of experienced tax practitioners in these situations are most valuable.”

The ATO is calling on anyone who used Ms Van Stroe’s services to “urgently” review their income tax returns through their myGov accounts.

Neil Griffiths

Neil is the Deputy Editor of the wealth titles, including ifa and InvestorDaily.

Neil is also the host of the ifa show podcast.