ATO compromises on SMSF reporting changes
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has compromised on its plans to impose stringent reporting requirements on self managed super funds (SMSFs) for prescribed events, following pressure from SMSF groups.
The ATO has deferred the beginning of the new reporting regime to 1 July 2018, and will only impose quarterly reporting on SMSFs for prescribed events thereafter. The original reporting system proposed by the ATO would have required all SMSFs to report prescribed events quarterly or monthly.
Furthermore, the new reporting requirements will only apply to SMSFs with members who have a total superannuation balance (across all funds of which they are a member) greater than $1 million. All other SMSFs will be required to report only annually.
The Self-managed Independent Superannuation Funds Association (SISFA) welcomed the ATO’s announcement, saying that it represented a significant concession to the original reporting framework proposed.
SISFA believed that the blanket reporting approach first put forward by the ATO would have been problematic and costly in practice, with little tangible benefit. It said that the ATO’s compromised solution is more targeted, leading to better results for SMSF members.
Reportable events include the commencement or commutation of a retirement phase pension, and the reporting deadline will be 28 days after the end of the quarter during which the event occurs.
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