SUPERCentral News
The Assistant Commissioner - SMSF Segment has recently commented that the ATO is surprised by the number of SMSFs which are currently providing pensions - typically transition to retirement pensions - when the applicable trust deeds neither contemplates nor permits the trustee to pay such pensions.
The current version of the SUPERCentral Governing Rules - Version 05/15 which applies on and from 20 May 2015 - has now been registered under the Queensland Land Title Act.
Apart from their tax planning your clients need to ensure that all their documentation is in order to support their proposed tax status.
It seems that the ATO is currently undertaking a review of SMSFs who have received trust distributions.
The ATO has recently issued an Interpretative Decision which sets out its view as to when a superannuation fund trustee can claim a deduction for the "future service portion" of a death benefit rather than claiming a deduction for the insurance premium. The Interpretative Decision was released on 5 June 2015.
Estimated SMSFs March 2015 quarter
The ATO has issued an Interpretative Decision (ID 2015/11) which specifies that only individuals who have either general registration or specialist registration with the Medical Board of Australia will qualify as a legally qualified medical practitioner.
The ATO has issued a new Interpretative Decision (ATO ID 2015/10 - 1 May 2015) which suggests a common form of business succession agreement between business co-owners involving SMSFs, may have regulatory compliance issues.
The dollar value of each penalty unit will increase from $170 to $180 with effect from July 2015. Consequently, the maximum penalty for failing to sign the ATO Trustee Declaration will increase from $8,500 to $9,000, as the maximum penalty is 50 penalty units.
After being bitten and not achieving its goals in the last Budget, the Government has decided to address the Budget Deficit by means of bracket creep (increasing the tax take as salaries increase and move into higher tax brackets)
The Assistant Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has announced that the Government would relax the life expectancy requirement for accessing super benefits on the basis of terminal illness.
The Social Services Minister has made two significant announcements and given up on a previously announced change.
The ATO has issued a Taxpayer Alert concerning arrangements (which the ATO describes as "dividend stripping"
The SUPERCentral Governing Rules have been updated. The new updated rules (Version May 2015 or 05/15) will apply to all superannuation funds which are currently on the SUPERCentral system.
SUPERCentral and Townsends Lawyers are pleased to announce the release of the EPAdvantage Partners Program.
Step One: the SMSF must have an ABN. SMSFs which were established before 2000 may not have an ABN. If the SMSF does not have an ABN, it must immediately apply for an ABN.
Precise drafting for Binding Death Benefit Nominations (BDBNs) is everything.
The initial decision is whether the SMSF can and is going to live "off-grid".
Yes they can. This would be achieved by employer contributions subject to SUPERStreaming being first contributed to an APRA regulated fund, accumulated in that fund and, then rolled over/transferred to the SMSF.
One concrete outcome from the Cooper Super Review is the delightful "SUPERStream".