SUPERCentral News
Since 1 July 2014 the ATO has had the power to direct a recalcitrant trustee of a self managed superannuation fund (and also directors of corporate trustees of such funds) to undertake an approved educational course.
Estate planning is so much more than a 'Will'. For example, the most significant asset apart from a home may well be in super. A will cannot deal with super and an estate may be anything but simple.
The Government has announced (Press Release of Senator Cormann dated 24 October 2014) that it will establish a public register of licensed financial advisers.
Transactions in NSW where member-owned business real property is transferred at a concessional rate to an SMSF and LRBA transactions are likely to be impacted with higher duty in the next couple of months. The bill proposing the increase has made it through the lower house and is expected to be on the agenda the next time the upper house sits in October.
The Federal Court has imposed fines and costs of $50,000 on a husband and wife who acted as directors of the corporate trustee of their SMSF. Essentially, the directors of the corporate trustee used their SMSF as a private bank. They accessed their super balances as and when they liked by means of over 80 separate 'loans' and also used a fund asset to provide residential accommodation to their children free of charge.
Since 2002 there have been myriad changes to the law and practice of self managed superannuation in Australia. In fact, SUPERCentral has made 28 major changes that have occurred in the last two years alone, to its Governing Rules.
'Fettering' is a strange word. It is strange because it is a legal term which is not generally used in everyday conversations. However, it is sometimes used in conversations about reversionary beneficiary nominations and binding death benefit nominations. It seems there is much 'afettering' in superannuation!
Since the commencement of the current superannuation regime in July 2007 the problem of excess superannuation contributions has caused untold misery and agony for both taxpayers and their advisers who have fallen foul of the contribution caps. After living and experiencing this misery and agony for 7 years, the Government has now, finally, addressed the problem of both excess concessional contributions and excess non-concessional contributions.
The Current Version of the SUPERCentral Governing Rules - Version 08/14 which applies on and from 27 August 2014 - has now been registered as a Standard Terms Document with the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines.
SUPERCentral has been providing its members with access to the new streamlined Macquarie Cash Management Account at the same time as setting up an SMSF over the past month. This new combined service has been very well received by our Members proving to be very time efficient.
A recent NSW Court of Appeal decision - Beck v Henley [2014] NSWCA 201 - provides an interesting discussion and application of the Rule in Saunders v Vautier.
When the ATO released the pensions tax ruling (TR 2013/5) and the partial commutation determination (SMSFD 2013/2) the ATO surprisingly (but delightfully) confirmed that a member can have their cake and consume it as well. The cake being payment from the superannuation interest supporting the pension.
Generally, transition to retirement pensions cannot be commuted: that is cashed out as a superannuation lump sum payment to the member. This limitation of cashing out, ceases to apply when the member satisfies an unrestricted release condition - which is typically attaining age 65 or satisfying the retirement definition before attaining age 65.
The Government has agreed to defer the abolition of the low income superannuation contribution from 1 July 2012 to 1 July 2017. This deferral has now been enacted by the Minerals Resource Rent Tax Repeal and Other Measures Act 2014.
Superannuation assets are estimated by APRA to be $1.85 trillion as at 30 June 2014. APRA estimated the increase in total superannuation assets in the 12 months to 30 June 2014 was 15.3%.
It's official - the current SG rate of 9.5% will continue unchanged for the next 6 financial years. The SG rate will increase to 10% from 1 July 2021 and thereafter will continue to increase by 50 basis points until it reaches 12% on 1 July 2025.
SUPERCentral has now launched its flagship Estate Planning Guide and Testamentary Manual. This new system has been specifically designed for Advisors to guide clients through the intricacies of their testamentary documents and to gather the information needed to formulate an estate plan suitable for every client regardless of the size or complexity of their financial situation.
The Dowling excess contributions case has now been reheard by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Where the asset of the LRBA is Australian real estate and the fund is entirely in accumulation phase then for the 2014 annual return the reporting requirements are:
APRA's insights are set out in its new publication - appropriately named "Insights" and even more appropriately the inaugural issue is numbered "Issue No 1".