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SMSFs with related party LRBA borrowings

SMSFs with related party LRBA borrowings

On Monday 10 November 2015, Daniel Butler, in his role as the chair of The Tax Institute’s National Superannuation Committee, attended a meeting of the Superannuation Industry Relationship Network (‘SIRN’) with representatives of the ATO and a range of industry stakeholders. ATO amnesty on non-commercial LRBAs At this meeting, the ATO confirmed that there is [read more]

LRBA holding trusts receive the ‘look through’ treatment

LRBA holding trusts receive the ‘look through’ treatment

The Federal Parliament recently passed legislation which affects the tax treatment of limited recourse borrowing arrangements. The Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2015 Measures No. 2) Act 2015 (Cth) (‘Act’) received Royal Asset on 16 September 2015. We consider relevant aspects of the amendments made to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) (‘ITAA 1997’) [read more]

Government response to the Financial System Inquiry is good news for limited recourse borrowing arrangements

Government response to the Financial System Inquiry is good news for limited recourse borrowing arrangements

The final FSI report — released in December 2014 — recommended that the government: Remove the exception to the general prohibition on direct borrowing for limited recourse borrowing arrangements by superannuation funds. More specifically, it stated: Government should restore the general prohibition on direct borrowing by superannuation funds by removing Section 67A of [read more]

SMSFs investing via unit trusts

SMSFs investing via unit trusts

A unit trust is a popular structure to hold property and other investments. This article examines numerous methods how an SMSF may invest in a unit trust and also covers a proposed tax change that will impact on the tax treatment of certain unit trusts once finalised as law. Many publicly offered managed investments fund [read more]

The latest on ATO penalties for SMSFs and trustees

The latest on ATO penalties for SMSFs and trustees

Naturally, it is always important for an SMSF to comply with the various laws that govern it. However, I thought this might be a good opportunity to reflect on the latest updates on the compliance landscape. Penalties have increased It was big news when the ATO was granted the right to unilaterally impose monetary penalties [read more]

Amendments To The Superannuation Guarantee Charge

Amendments To The Superannuation Guarantee Charge

In an attempt to simplify the SG regime, and reduce the penalties associated with the SGC, the Government has introduced the draft Superannuation Guarantee Legislation Amendment (Simplification) Bill 2015, which if passed, will apply from 1 July 2016. This article will consider the key amendments proposed, and give some practical examples of the difficulties of [read more]

QROPS update as another SMSF joins the ROPS list

QROPS update as another SMSF joins the ROPS list

DBA Lawyers is pleased to announce that an existing self managed superannuation fund (‘SMSF’) with members over 55 years of age has been added to the recognised overseas pension scheme (‘ROPS’) list. Background Under UK law, an Australian superannuation fund must satisfy the requirements of a qualified recognised overseas pension scheme (‘QROPS’) to be able [read more]

Accountants planning to have or not to have an Australian Financial Services Licence after mid 2016

Accountants planning to have or not to have an Australian Financial Services Licence after mid 2016

I have recently presented many seminars around Australia on whether an accountant requires an Australian Financial Services Licence (‘Licence’) after 30 June 2016. The interest and feedback gathered from this round of seminars has been very insightful. While the actual number of limited Licences that have been issued to date by ASIC is still relatively [read more]