Tax Return

I am the elected Treasurer/Secretary in a small block of 8 units. Our strata plan is 4 years old and we use a strata manager for our accounts and advice. For the first three years we had zero income for tax purposes. This past year we have some bank interest.

I told the Strata Manager that I would do the tax return but he insists that we use his tax agent. He says that he is our public officer and that he is legally liable, even if I do the return, so he cannot take that risk. There is nothing in our strata agency agreement to support this.

The ATO won’t talk to me about our particular strata plan as the Strata Manager is the registered contact. If we didn’t have a Strata Manager, then I could do the return.

Can you advise whether he can legally insist on doing the return or whether, since we employ him, I can insist on doing it?