The ATO has issued guidelines defining the compliance obligations relating to limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBA) involving related parties that will ensure income from these strategies will not be treated as non-arm’s length in nature.

The ATO believes its proposed early engagement and voluntary disclosure service for SMSFs will significantly improve the interaction with trustees and practitioners when it comes to handling breaches.

SMSF advisers and trustees need to be aware the ATO’s practical compliance guidelines (PCG) issued last week regarding limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBA) do not cover all assets or all aspects of these types of gearing strategies, according to some sector experts.

The ATO has revealed SMSFs are getting better at meeting their key lodgement responsibilities, however, the tax office is closely monitoring funds that have lapsed lodgements.

The ATO has announced a number of priority outcomes for the SMSF sector, including digitising parts of the SMSF process, to be delivered as part of its reinvention over the next four years.

The ATO should consider integrating online trustee declarations into an online portal as part of its plans for improving its SMSF operations as it would benefit everyone involved in the administration and audit processes of a fund.