Maximising superannuation concessions before 30 June
Despite volatile and uncertain investment markets, superannuation continues to offer a tax-effective structure for many taxpayers. While superannuation should not necessarily be viewed as a year-end planning matter, 30 June marks an important date in terms of ensuring taxpayers maximise the superannuation concessions. However, 30 June 2010 represents the end of the first financial year ...more
The Government’s Future of Financial Advice reforms
On 26 April 2010, the Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law, Mr Chris Bowen, announced the Government’s Future of Financial Advice reforms in response to the recommendations of the Ripoll Report into financial products and services. Key reforms The key reforms, which will apply from 1 July 2012, include: ban on commissions – ...more
Stronger compliance action on non-lodger trustees of SMSFs
The Tax Office has advised that it is implementing a new approach for SMSF trustees who, despite have been sent previous reminders, have still not lodged their SMSF annual income tax return. The Tax Office said it had recently sent letters directly to these funds and their trustees. The letters outlined what they needed to ...more
SMSFs and contribution reserves: Tax Office view
The Commissioner has provided tentative approval for contribution reserving strategies within a superannuation fund which could potentially provide some relief from excess contributions tax under Div 292 of the ITAA 1997. In the NTLG Superannuation Technical Sub-group meeting minutes of 16 June 2009, the Commissioner set out his preliminary interpretative approach on the use of ...more
SMSFs: Social security waiver for asset-test exempt income streams
The Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Julia Gillard, today [Fri 11.9.2009] registered a legislative instrument under s1237AB of the Social Security Act 1991 to waive any debt due to the Commonwealth in respect of income streams sourced from a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) that are no longer able to meet the “high probability” ...more
Minimum pension relief for self-funded retirees
The Tax Office noted that relief for self-funded retirees from the minimum payment requirement for account-based pensions has been extended. Contains an example. Note that the Amending Regulations to extend this relief were registered on 5 June 2009 This article appeared in Thomson Reuters Latest Tax News (Tuesday 4th August 2009). With tax fast-moving and ...more
Draft ruling for SMSF – ‘borrowed money’
The ATO has released a Draft TR defining the meaning of ‘borrow’ for the purpose of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993. The meaning of these phrases has application in determining if a trustee of a smsf has broken the prohibition against borrowing.
Death binding nomination and SMSFs
A death binding nomination is a legal instrument that ‘binds’ a trustee of a superannuation fund to distribute the superannuation benefits of a deceased member to the recipient (or recipients) stated in the nomination.
In the absence of a nomination, a trustee has the discretionary power to determine how the benefits should be distributed in accordance with the trust deed, trust law and the superannuation legislation. However, if the rules in the trust deed are inconsistent with the superannuation legislation, the latter will prevail.
SMSFs and in-house assets: core definitions
This Draft SMSF Ruling, released 5.11.2008 explains the core concepts in the definition of “in-house asset” in s 71 of the SIS Act as they apply to self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs). The key definitions explained are “asset”, “loan”, “investment in”, ‘lease” and “lease arrangement”.
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