SUPERCentral News
The Rudd Government’s guarantee on bank deposits will extend to bank deposits of self managed superannuation funds.
The ATO has recently issued an Interpretative Decision as to the treatment of account-based pensions for the purposes of calculating the dependants’ rebates of a taxpayer.
The testator has died leaving minor children but has not set up a testamentary trust in their Will. Are the tax concessions that would have applied to such a trust lost? Not necessarily – and not completely.
The Assistant Commissioner, in the same speech, indicated that the ATO will increase, compared to previous years, the attention given to testing SMSFs’ tax compliance for the 2009/10 compliance program. In previous years the emphasis was on SMSFs’ compliance with the SIS standards.
The Assistant Commissioner, to illustrate the SMSF tax return errors, provided the following true story relating to exempt current pension income.
There are very two very good and compelling reasons for SMSFs to lodge their Tax Returns on time.
The ATO Commissioner has noted that loans by SMSFs are of particular concern. Fund loans account for 30% of current audit cases and prohibited loans (eg to members or relatives) are the “single biggest” contravention reported by fund auditors.
It seems that the earliest start date for any major reforms arising from the “Roots & Branch” – aka the Henry Tax Review - review of the taxation, savings and transfers system will be 1 July 2010.
The non-concessional contribution cap (currently 2009/10) of $150,000 applies to ordinary non-concessional contributions.
It’s a myth that only wealthy people need estate planning. Just about everyone needs some level of estate planning. To understand why, and to see the five elements that constitute a good estate plan, read on …
The SIS Act and Regulation imposed certain rules on super funds accepting contributions.
The “bring forward” rule is automatically invoked by a super investor making more than $150,000 of non-concessional contributions in a financial year. There is no election or form required to be completed to invoke the rule.
Consider Edward, who makes a non-concessional contribution of $160,000 on 1 July 2009. He has invoked the application of the "bring forward" rule and the non-concessional contributions caps for the first year (2009/10) and the next two are:
One aspect of the non-concessional contributions limits is the ability to use up to three years’ worth of the contribution in one go. This is called the “bring forward†rule.
Strict limits apply to the amount of contributions which can be made for a super investor during a financial year.
One of the many reviews initiated by the Rudd Government is the review of the pension age. This review has not attracted media attention. However, the basic issue is whether the age pension should be increased from its current 65 (for males) and 63 to 65 (depending on the date of birth) to a higher figure – say 67 or even 70.
The Treasurer’s recent admission that he could not live on the single age pension – which is $273 per week – and the Opposition’s proposal to immediately increase the age pension rate by $30 per week – has created political momentum for a review of the age pension rate.
The ATO has just released a draft SMSF Determination dealing with Binding Death Benefit Nominations (SMSFD 2008/D1 – released 10 September 2008) for public comment.
One of the May 2009 Budget initiatives was a proposal to develop an inflation index which was designed to measure price changes of the disposable incomes of pensioners.
A recent decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in JNVQ v Commissioner of Taxation provides SMSF trustees with a timely reminder of the importance of super law compliance and the seriousness of a fund becoming non-compliant.