This Administrative Appeals Tribunal decision involved a member of a large fund becoming implicated in an early release of superannuation scheme. It is a very interesting insight into how some of these schemes are undertaken. Also, it has some very interesting tips for advisers especially tax agents of how deep they should investigate dubious or [read more]
Can an SMSF trustee purchase a trauma insurance policy in respect of a member? Many might think the answer is yes and that the ATO said so in SMSFD 2010/1. However, yesterday the ATO prospectively withdrew SMSFD 2010/1 with effect from 1 July 2014. Accordingly, SMSFD 2010/1 is now in fact SMSFD 2010/1W (the ‘W’ [read more]
Superannuation funds Regulated superannuation funds (ie, both APRA funds and SMSFs) must plan when they will become ready to receive contributions and data in the new SuperStream electronic standard. Originally this date was 1 July 2014, however this is now the voluntary induction date for funds and employers. There have been a number of extensions [read more]
Until 4 April this year, SMSF trustees with limited recourse borrowings that were ending were faced with a problem. With the loan paid off, there was the prospect of being forced to transfer the asset to the SMSF trustee. The fear had been that to keep the asset inside the trust would give rise to [read more]
Overview There have been two recent decisions in which taxpayers have won the independent contractor argument in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (‘AAT’). Naturally, if the contractor is an employee, then the PAYG withholding and superannuation guarantee obligations fall on the employer (head contractor). Moreover, other obligations such as those under state and territory legislation regarding [read more]
Overview This article provides a brief summary of the excess contributions tax (‘ECT’) regime. It also summarises the latest developments including the May 2014 Federal Budget announcement, the latest statistical information and covers several key recommendations made by the Inspector-General of Taxation (‘IGT’). Brief summary The ECT regime was introduced in July 2007 as a [read more]
Introduction Those who have suffered loss as a result of defective ATO administration may be eligible to claim compensation from the ATO. Such compensation will only be available in limited circumstances, and knowing when to enquire about the options can be a real ‘value add’ for clients. This article outlines what you need to know [read more]
Recent ATO materials suggest non-arm’s length limited recourse borrowing arrangements will give rise to huge tax problems. More specifically, the materials suggest income derived can be non-arm’s length income (ie, taxed at 45%) where the LRBA favours the SMSF. This could come as a shock as many have incorrectly said the ATO has previously ‘green [read more]
The trustee of a regulated superannuation fund is prohibited from lending money to a member of the fund (and/or a member’s relatives). However, what if the trustee lends to a related company of which the member is the sole director and shareholder? Subject to proper structuring this can be a viable strategy and even has [read more]
A little known quirk in the preservation rules can have important implications for clients. This article explains how the quirk arises, and then how to use it to advantage clients. In a nutshell the quirk allows trustees of super funds to ‘cherry pick’ whether to fund pensions from unrestricted non-preserved benefits or preserved benefits. Legislative [read more]
