LRBAs and related trusts Draft legislative instrument Section 71(8) of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) (SIS) Act excludes an investment by an SMSF in the custodial trust arrangement required for a limited recourse borrowing arrangement from the definition of an in-house asset, despite being a related trust. However, it has become evident the legislation did not adequately protect […]

Abandoned legislation Assistant Treasurer Arthur Sinodinos, Media release, 14 Dec 2013 The previous government left a backlog of 92 announced but unlegislated tax and superannuation measures. One of the early tasks of the new government has been to decide which measures will continue and which will be abandoned. In particular, proceeding measures that impact on […]

Lodging annual returns When SMSF trustees are getting ready to lodge their 2012/13 SMSF returns, changes to note include: assets should be valued at market value, the appointed auditor needs to be registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and the SMSF levy has increased and is in transition to being paid during […]

Off-market transfers Superannuation Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No 1) Bill 2013  Proposals to ban off-market transfers with a related party have been taken off the table, at least for now.  The Superannuation Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No 1) Bill 2013 included a proposal to ban off-market related-party transfers from 1 July 2013, but the bill […]

Acceptance of rollovers and contributions Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No 5) and Superannuation Data and Payment Standards 2012 Legislative Instrument As part of the SuperStream measures, super funds will need to follow electronic service and payment standards for transactions involving contributions and rollovers. These new electronic standards will be phased in for SMSFs […]

Investment strategies New regulations for SMSF investment strategies took effect on 7 August 2012, requiring trustees to: regularly review the investment strategy, consider insurance for members as part of the strategy, and report the value of assets at market value. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) also now has the power to enforce the requirement for SMSF […]