Daniel Butler, Director ([email protected]) We have recently experienced substantial superannuation changes during the period of 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018. I therefore provide a brief ‘stocktake’ of the changes introduced by the current Coalition Government. A number of these policies were adverse to many members. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said that the [read more]
By William Fettes ([email protected]), Senior Associate, DBA Lawyers The starting point at general law is that legal title to fund assets must generally be held in name of the current trustees of the fund. However, this is not always possible, eg, where an SMSF trustee is unable to hold legal title, and title is instead [read more]
Shaun Backhaus ([email protected]), Lawyer and Daniel Butler ([email protected]), Director, DBA Lawyers DBA Lawyers can supply a discretionary trust deed to exclude foreign persons from being beneficiaries. We do not automatically exclude foreign persons as this may exclude beneficiaries forever and may have substantial long-term implications. Moreover, with eight different jurisdictions with different legislation and with [read more]
By Christian Pakpahan, Lawyer and Daniel Butler, Director, DBA Lawyers On 24 May 2018, the government announced a 12 month superannuation guarantee (‘SG’) amnesty (‘Amnesty’) that proposes to give employers an opportunity to rectify past SG non-compliance without penalty. If the Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Superannuation Measures No. 1) Bill 2018 (‘SG Bill’) is ever [read more]
By Daniel Butler, Director, DBA Lawyers The consequences of an SMSF failing the residency rules can be automatic non-complying status. This will broadly mean the entire amount of the SMSF’s assets, less non-concessional contributions, are taxed at 45% in the year of non-compliance (47% during temporary budget repair levy financial years of 2014-15, 2015-16 and [read more]
By William Fettes ([email protected]), Senior Associate, DBA Lawyers The starting point at general law is that legal title to fund assets must generally be held in name of the current trustees of the fund. However, this is not always possible, eg, where an SMSF trustee is unable to hold legal title, and title is instead [read more]
Joseph Cheung, Lawyer and Daniel Butler, Director, DBA Lawyers The Australian Taxation Office (‘ATO’) has issued SMSF Regulator’s Bulletin SMSFRB 2018/1 ‘The use of reserves by self-managed superannuation funds’. This is the most comprehensive material ever released by the ATO on the use of reserves by self managed superannuation funds (‘SMSFs’). This article highlights the [read more]
Today the ATO issued SMSF Regulator’s Bulletin SRB 2018/1 ‘The use of reserves by self-managed superannuation funds’, which is the most comprehensive material that the ATO has ever released on the use of reserves in SMSF. In particular, SRB 2018/1 highlights the ATO’s concerns about new and emerging arrangements that pose potential risks to SMSFs [read more]
By Christian Pakpahan ([email protected]), Lawyer and Bryce Figot ([email protected]), Special Counsel, DBA Lawyers The new transfer balance cap regime can make succession planning tricky. A member may desire to make their pensions reversionary upon death. However, there may be situations where receiving these reversionary pensions would cause the beneficiary to exceed their transfer balance cap. [read more]
By Shaun Backhaus, Lawyer and Daniel Butler, Director DBA Lawyers Financial Ombudsman Service The Financial Ombudsman Service (‘FOS’) is an industry body that resolves disputes between consumers and financial services providers that are members which operate in Australia. FOS is self-regulated by industry members with its costs met by the financial services providers. FOS’s dispute resolution [read more]
