I confess I have a vested interest in supporting the government’s three yearly audit proposal so why am I totally opposed to it? “The objective of the measure is to incentivise good record-keeping and compliance by SMSFs whilst maintaining system oversight and integrity.” What this measure will achieve is quite the opposite. Significant incentives already exist for good...
This Snippet has been largely reproduced from an article by Greg Einfeld of Lime Actuarial who has nailed the changes that have been made to the calculation of exempt pension income. Hopefully the regulators will apply some common sense where the result of the changes is just plain silly but that is yet to be seen. The...
Our last Snippet focused on the future service benefit tax deduction. The example showed how a tax saving of about $87,000 could be made if a life insurance policy funded any part of the $1m payment to the member, or tax dependent, within the parameters described. The flip side is the consequence if the benefit is...
Section 295-470 of the ITAA (Future Service Benefit) allows a Fund to claim an income tax deduction on the payment of: 1. a superannuation death benefit; or 2. a terminal illness benefit; or 3. a disability superannuation benefit or 4. a temporary incapacity income stream. The deduction, also known as the Future Liability deduction, is available irrespective of whether the benefit...
Legislation is now going before Parliament on the contentious issue of the inclusion of the outstanding balance of a limited recourse borrowing in the calculation of a member’s total super balance. Though I remain totally opposed to the recasting of debt as an asset and believe that this measure is poorly considered and inequitable at least...
We have prepared a comprehensive SMSF end of year check list that we strongly suspect is the most comprehensive you would have seen published. It's available here....
If an SMSF and a related party, including a related SMSF, plan to purchase an ungeared property the simplest and least expensive method may not necessarily be the best. If the property is acquired as tenants in common, and it is intended that the SMSF acquire the other party’s equity in the future, this would NOT be...
For a budget that has been relatively quiet on superannuation there have been quite a few tweaks of significance. To correct an unfair technical anomaly, it is proposed that reversionary transition to retirement income streams be subject to the same tax exempt treatment on earnings as reversionary pensions in the retirement phase. This would be a welcome...