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 »
Whilst most of the attention with limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs) has centred around property transactions, there has been a need to clarify a range of issues on other acquirable assets, in particular assets allowable as a collection of identical assets under the definition of a single acquirable asset (SAA). It’s not uncommon when placing an … Continue reading »
The next few months starts a transformation for more than 12,000 SMSF auditors, with ASIC registration to open to become an Approved SMSF Auditor. This registration is mandatory for all SMSF auditors to continue to conduct self managed super fund audits post 1 July 2013. With about 50% of the SMSF auditors currently auditing 10 … Continue reading »
After only just discussing the regulatory focus by ASIC on SMSFs and property investments, we have seen further regulatory “alarm bells” ringing through the ATO’s release of taxpayer alert, TA 2012/7. A Taxpayer Alert is an “early warning” of significant new and emerging higher risk tax and superannuation planning issues or arrangements that the ATO … Continue reading »
I’m pretty passionate about defending the SMSF industry (maybe I’m biased), but it makes my blood boil when representatives from the ‘other side of the fence’ take a few cheap shots at self managed super funds with very little supported data (or none at all). I’m referring to an article I read in Money Management yesterday prepared … Continue reading »
Financial distress can cloud an individual’s judgement and recent AAT case has highlighted that telling “porky pies” isn’t going to win any favours with the Commissioner of Taxation. The case of Sinclair and the Commissioner of Taxation was an appeal by the taxpayer as to the assessability of an illegal early release amount from BT rolled … Continue reading »
The ATO has recently updated its website with the latest statistics regarding excess contributions tax (ECT), which continues to show individuals predominantly getting caught with their concessional contribution (i.e. salary sacrifice arrangements). After a 314% increase in ECT notices in 2009-10, there has been a reduction again in 2010-11 to date, however it is significantly … Continue reading »
The ATO has published the June 2012 quarterly statistics on the self managed super fund market, with figures showing further growth in the sector with 7,197 new fund established for the quarter, taking the total number of SMSFs to 478,263. The average fund balance has grown to $917,895, with $439 billion of assets, the … Continue reading »
Deciding to take on the Commissioner with Excess Contribution Tax (ECT) assessments was becoming a daunting task, with a perfect record that started to look a little like Black Caviar’s!! Well, the last couple of cases has seen the taxpayer land knockout blows against the Commissioner at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). After tasting defeat … Continue reading »
Whilst the interest in limited recourse borrowing within self-managed super funds appears to be rising, the opposite has been posed to the Australian Taxation Office in respect to the level of interest than may be applied to a related party loan. The June 2012 NTLG minutes posed the question as to whether a zero percent … Continue reading »