At DBA Lawyers we like to think of our SMSF deed as being the Rolls Royce of SMSF deeds. We constantly review, refine, test, debate and update it. And we’ve been doing so for well over 20 years. We are Australia leading SMSF law firm with the largest team of dedicated SMSF lawyers. As a [read more]
Introduction What happens when a business borrows from a bank to make extremely large super contributions to an SMSF and then the business folds? Can the bank get its money back? A recent case — Australasian Annuities [2013] VSC 543 — suggests that the answer is no: the bank misses out and the SMSF can [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]
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]
Some advisers may have previously recommended that there are opportunities to continue paying a pension following a member’s death to their deceased estate. However, ATO ID 2014/2 provides a real hurdle to this strategy! (Note that this has been a somewhat busy time for the ATO and interpretative decisions regarding pensions. The ATO also recently [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]
Traditionally, SMSF trustees have effected insurance for members under a self-insurance model. This involves the SMSF trustee to take out, say, death insurance on a particular member. In the event of a claim, the insurance proceeds are allocated to the relevant member’s account in the fund. The proceeds can then be paid to the member [read more]
Meet Graeme Graeme is a 56 years old builder. He has been married and divorced and has adult children from that marriage. He now has a second spouse. Graeme and the second spouse are members of an SMSF together. They are also the trustees of the SMSF. His SMSF has acquired vacant real estate. The [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]
