Comedian George Burns continued to work until shortly before his death, in 1996, at the age of 100. Presumably he was working for love and not money. Certainly he was not working for super, because he could not have had contributions made to his fund under the legislation that then existed. That has been the [read more]
By Daniel Butler, Director, and Bryce Figot, Director, both of DBA Lawyers The ATO has confirmed that contribution reserving is a viable strategy. The ATO has issued an interpretative decision (‘ID’) ATO ID 2012/16 relating to contribution reserving up to 30 June 2013 and a tax determination (‘TD’) TD 2013/22 in respect of contributions made [read more]
Australian Taxation Office Interpretative Decision ATO ID 2014/7 provides the latest on the rules regarding keeping SMSF assets separate. It suggests the position is very strict. However, a deeper technical analysis reveals there might often be some ‘flexibility’. This article concludes that the critical practical implication is that each SMSF should have a sole purpose [read more]
I’ve just presented at the SPAA National Conference in Brisbane. It’s been fantastic as usual and SPAA should be congratulated on another job well done in organising such a great conference. I’ve made available the paper that accompanied my presentation. You can download a PDF version here Alternatively, the full text of the paper is [read more]
Since 2010 I’ve been lecturing at Melbourne University, presenting the SMSF component of the Master of Laws subject ‘Superannuation Law‘. Melbourne University is my ‘alma mater’. I fully enjoyed studying there for my undergraduate degrees and masters degree and I’m always very happy to be able to give back to the legal community. I’m lecturing [read more]
Introduction The recent of decision of Gutteridge and Commissioner of Taxation [2013] AATA 947 has huge implications for SMSFs when considering and control of a 50–50 unit trust and the in-house asset rules. The decision was handed down on 24 December 2013. It can be seen as an early Christmas present from the Administrative Appeals [read more]
A regulated super fund trustee can borrow, but only subject to very prescriptive rules. One such rule is that each ‘single’ asset must be purchased with a separate limited recourse borrowing arrangement. (See, among other things, SMSFR 2012/1.) Accordingly, if a super fund trustee wants to borrow to buy two assets, this might well be [read more]
The ATO recently released an important draft tax ruling TR 2013/D7 (‘D7’) that focuses on the apportionment of expenses incurred by a superannuation fund where a fund derives both assessable and non-assessable income. D7 is proposed to take effect from 1 July 2014 and then supersede TR 97/13 which currently provides guidance on apportioning expenses. [read more]
This article outlines some of the key international issues facing SMSFs today and addresses the practical skills necessary to ensure that these matters are handled effectively. SMSF residency SMSFs are generally not appropriate for people who spend extended time overseas. Such funds can easily lose their complying status and suffer significant tax penalties. Residency requirements [read more]
A question that is periodically posed to advisers is the ability of SMSF trustees to invest using derivatives. There is some uncertainty as to the answer. This article seeks to provide guidance. Need for a derivatives risk statement Firstly, there is a misconception that should be addressed — the misconception that all SMSF trustees holding [read more]
