Daniel Butler, Director ([email protected]) and Shaun Backhaus, Lawyer ([email protected]) The next Federal election, according to our current Prime Minister Mr Scott Morrison, will be held in May 2019 and, if the Labor Government is elected, significant change is likely. Thus, a brief ‘stock take’ of what the superannuation landscape will look like under a Labor Government [read more]
By Christian Pakpahan, Lawyer and Daniel Butler, Director, DBA Lawyers We compare the option of a director nominating an alternate director in contrast to nominating a successor director in a self managed superannuation fund (‘SMSF’) context to determine which is better. In Part 1 of our series, we considered how alternate directors are problematic in [read more]
By Christian Pakpahan, Lawyer and Daniel Butler, Director,DBA Lawyers We compare the option of a director nominating an alternate director in contrast to nominating a successor director in a self managed superannuation fund (‘SMSF’) context to determine which is better. We also provide a brief comparison table below to support our view that alternate directors [read more]
Christian Pakpahan ([email protected]), Lawyer and Daniel Butler ([email protected]), Director, DBA Lawyers This article covers the main ways a person becomes a disqualified person, the consequences of disqualification and the options available to those who are disqualified. (We refer to a trustee in this article as covering both individual trustees of an SMSF and directors of [read more]
Joseph Cheung ([email protected]), Lawyer and Daniel Butler ([email protected]), Director, DBA Lawyers Many in the industry are aware of the potential trap caused by the transfer balance cap (‘TBC’) for SMSF members who receive payments above the account-based pension (‘ABP’) minimum annual amount. Naturally, unless appropriate documentation is in place prior to the payment being made, [read more]
Joseph Cheung, Lawyer and Bryce Figot, Special Counsel, DBA Lawyers Payments above the account-based pension (‘ABP’) minimum annual payment have the potential to become a trap. The June 2017 SMSF Benchmark Report by Class Super states that ‘the average SMSF pensioner withdraws about $74,000 annually on their pension over a series of 12 transactions and [read more]
Australian Taxation Office statistics suggest that a large majority of SMSFs have individual trustees. This is troubling, considering that sole purpose corporate SMSF trustees have been known to be superior for many years. This covers the main reasons to have a sole purpose corporate trustee. The ‘sole purpose’ indicates that the company only acts in [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]
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]
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]
