News

Property, Regulation, SMSF

Be wary of trust control trap

SMSF Property In-house assets Related-parties Unit trust Ownership

Scrutinising the structure and governance of a unit trust tied to a property development is critical to the success of an SMSF’s investment in the project.

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ATO, Auditing, Regulation

APES 110 angst for specific firms

APES 110 Auditor Independence Standards ATO SMSF Auditors

ATO reviews of SMSF auditors have recognised the specific type of practitioner likely to fall foul of the independence standards set out in APES 110.

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Contributions, Superannuation

Make general TBC a threshold standard

Transfer balance cap proportionate indexation Superannuation The Tax Institute Institute of Financial Professionals Australia

The general transfer balance cap should be applied to all super fund members and used as the basis for setting and raising other thresholds.

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Administration, Regulation, SMSF

SMSFs can report GST annually

ATO GST SMSF Reporting

SMSFs can save time and administrative costs by electing to report their GST obligations annually, provided they meet a certain set of conditions.

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Death benefits

Remove lump sum restrictions

Death benefit lump sum limits IFPA Institute of Financial Professionals Australia Pre-budget submission

Limits on the number of death benefit lump sums from superannuation are restrictive and should be removed to prevent breaches of the super regulations.

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Death benefits, SMSF, Succession Planning

Equity rule key to benefit payments

Equity SMSF Death benefit BDBN Reversionary pension

Understanding the rules of equity is essential in determining how superannuation death benefits will be paid out in a legal case.

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Retirement

Government retirement costings inappropriate

Retirement Funding Superannuation system Age pension

The current methodology used to ascertain what it is costing the government to fund Australians’ retirement is misleading and not appropriate.

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Education, Investments, SMSF, Superannuation

Facilitating the education of grandchildren

Education bond SMSF

SMSF trustees can make specific portfolio allocations that will enable them to fund the education expenses of their grandchildren.

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Contributions, Legislation, Tax

Reserve allocations a $3m cap issue

Reserve allocations Total superannuation balance Contributions $3 million soft cap tax Concessional cap

The treatment of reserve allocations to members for the purpose of the $3 million soft cap is problematic and can have significant adverse outcomes.

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Death benefits, Regulation, Tax

Death benefit payment delay risky

Death benefit Payment Pension Lump sum ECPI

SMSF trustees have been urged to promptly distribute death benefits as doing so is believed to reduce the likelihood of unintended consequences.

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