In a follow-up to my last blog post about “falling short with pension payments”, I’ve had a range of questions being asked about the ATO’s view when a trustee may not meet the pension standards and when the Commissioner may use his powers of general administration (GPA) to allow for a pension to continue, along … Continue reading »
Forgetting to take the minimum pension is one of the cardinal sins when it comes to operating your self managed super fund. This issue was highlighted within draft tax ruling, TR 2011/D3 where the Commissioner states that failure to meet the minimum will mean the fund is not entitled to tax exemption on the income … Continue reading »
With the self-managed super fund landscape continuing to evolve, it is important that education and training reflects the changing nature of technical and regulatory issues. With this in mind, the Changing Face of SMSF webinar (previously the SMSF quarterly wrap) provides professionals with up-to-date information about legislative change from Government and the from Regulators. Webinar outline: In … Continue reading »
The ability to utilise borrowings to repair and maintain an asset as part of an SMSF limited recourse borrowing arrangement (LRBA) has been a key feature of the revised legislation since 7 July 2010, when section 67A & 67B were introduced. However, being able to redraw on a loan facility to make such repairs is … Continue reading »
With a growing number of self managed super funds, it is without question that adequate resources are required to ensure that SMSFs remain as a well-functioning sector. It is with some concern however, that the cost of regulation may soon become a barrier to entry, in particular where these costs are increasing against administration and … Continue reading »
In the lead up to Christmas, Treasury released an exposure draft of regulations to amend the existing related party acquisition rules for SMSFs – a direct result of a Cooper Review recommendation. The review found a lack of transparency on transfers (such as with listed shares) and recommended that any acquisition or disposal of assets … Continue reading »
![Dunno? Dealing with contributions made in error [VIDEO]](http://i1.wp.com/thedunnthing.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/dunno_post.png?resize=290%2C290 "Dunno? Dealing with contributions made in error [VIDEO]")
I regularly get asked questions from readers through my blog on issues and strategies relating to self managed super funds, so why not bring these to ‘life’ by starting a new regular weekly blog, “Dunno: ask a question”. Each week I will hand-pick a reader question and respond with a video, audio (blogcast) or written … Continue reading »
A Happy New Year to all my readers… With the SMSF industry growing strongly, 2013 is likely to provide one of the most challenging and competitive (yet rewarding) periods for SMSF professionals. The year ahead will require practitioners to ‘step-up to the plate’ and be ready for many of the reforms that will reshape the … Continue reading »
It’s been a fascinating year… an Olympic year, with golden memories from London, a diamond jubilee, a Korean named Psy had a billion visits on YouTube in just five months, and the world still lingers on the precipice of further economic turmoil. It is this global uncertainty that has arguably continued to have the biggest impact on superannuation and … Continue reading »
Last week saw the release the ATO’s SMSF quarterly statistics (September 2012) which again showed strong growth in fund establishments. A further 8,183 new funds were setup in the first quarter of 2012-13 financial year, taking the number of SMSFs to 488,576. Total assets grew to more than $458 billion, which now shows the average … Continue reading »