The Australian Taxation Office has issued a taxpayer alert warning trustees and super fund members to be cautious when making contributions to superannuation funds.
Commissioner of Taxation Michael D’Ascenzo said when assets other than cash are transferred to a super fund, trustees must be certain the fund accurately reports the market value of the assets and considers any other relevant super regulatory issues.
According to D’Ascenzo, there are concerns about certain transactions designed to manipulate contribution limits to avoid paying excess contributions tax.
“It is also of concern that people may try to avoid the excess contributions tax by paying expenses on behalf of their fund, or by making improvements to a fund asset without reimbursement for the work,” D’Ascenzo said.
“We follow up on excess contributions to superannuation so people need to make sure they don’t exceed the cap or they will receive an excess contributions tax assessment.
“People also need to consider any income, capital gains and fringe benefits tax implications when transferring assets.”
