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]
This article originally appeared in the March 2014 edition of Asset Magazine (Financial Review). If superannuation death benefits are paid to the estate, a quirk in the law can mean higher tax and increased administration costs. Advisers are well-placed to add value by alerting clients and lawyers to this possible tax trap. Where does a [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]
In taxation ruling TR 2010/1 the ATO consider what is a contribution to a superannuation fund and when a contribution is made. A recent court case, Liwszyc v Commissioner of Taxation [2014] FCA 112, answers the question of whether the ATO actually got it right in TR 2010/1. Liwszyc v Commissioner of Taxation also contains [read more]
Australian Taxation Office Interpretative Decision ATO ID 2014/6 provides insights into when a person is financially dependent on someone else. However, it might not provide the ‘full’ picture for many seeking answers about financial dependency. The article seeks to fill in the gaps. Facts of ATO ID 2014/6 The facts of ATO ID 2014/6 are [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]
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]
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]
A new ATO release (TD 2013/22) provides further guidance for contribution reserving. In many ways, it is very similar to its predecessor, ATO ID 2012/16. However, it has some important differences. The facts The facts of TD 2013/22 are very comparable to ATO ID 2012/16, which encouraged the growth of contribution reserving. In TD 2013 [read more]
