Self Managed Super Funds
The previous announcement by Government to provide tax certainty for deceased estates had been widely applauded by the super industry. The MYEFO announcement remedied the Commissioner’s views contained within controversial draft Tax Ruling TR 2011/D3 that stated a pension would cease at the member’s death unless automatically reverting to a tax dependant beneficiary. These measures … Continue reading »
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has recently announced some changes to the 2013 SMSF Annual Return. Much of this updated information is targeted to gain a better understanding of some of the higher risk areas around regulation of SMSFs including: methodology of exempt current pension income calculations deductible and non-deductible expenses, which outline a more … Continue reading »
In what can only be viewed as a “big win” for the self-managed super fund industry, the Government has decided not to proceed with the new related party acquisition and disposal rules from 1 July 2013. Momentum had been building from within the industry for trustees and professionals to apply pressure on their local MPs … Continue reading »
It has been interesting reading over the past couple of days about the headline of the ATO March 2013 statistics focusing on a sharp decline in new establishments rather than the milestone of more than 500,000 SMSFs now in operation in Australia. Whilst opportunistic to report on newly released statistics, there is a traditional time-lag … Continue reading »
The superannuation tax concessions received by high income earners has been a bug-bear of the current Government, challenged by falling budget revenues and trying to even the balance of tax concessions across individuals of varying levels of income. Last year’s Federal Budget claimed by many as a ‘robin hood’ budget, saw the introduction of a … Continue reading »
The ability to borrow to acquire property within a SMSF using a Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangement (“LRBA”) is experiencing exponential growth. This property acquisition strategy has been embraced not just simply by “Mum & Dad” SMSFs but is becoming increasingly popular with business “partners”. The prospect of acquiring property from which to operate a business, … Continue reading »
There were many people waiting with bated breath for this year’s Federal Budget to see if the Labor Government had any further ‘superannuation tricks’ up their sleeve to address what seemed an ever-growing budget deficit. After announcing a range of reforms on 5 April 2013 to appease much of the constant rumours of an attack … Continue reading »
The Government has moved quickly on their 5 April 2013 announcements to increase the concessional contribution (CC) cap, with Treasury releasing of an exposure draft (for industry consultation) which outlines details proposed increases from 1 July 2013. The increase in the CC cap is to be phased in, with an: increase to $35,000 from 1 … Continue reading »
With the growing number of SMSF members moving towards retirement, there is a growing focus on benefit payments from superannuation. Within the SMSF environment, the ATO has taken an increased interest in this area from a compliance perspective, with guidance focusing on when pensions commence and cease, along with key issues around funds claiming tax … Continue reading »
There are a range issues for accountants to consider as they look to move into licensing to advise their SMSF clients. Whilst some may retain a ‘status quo’ until the removal of the removal of the accountant’s exemption from 1 July 2016, many are doing the training and education now, along with the necessary planning … Continue reading »