Govt set to push back off-market transfer ban: SPAA
The ban on off-market transfers for self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) will not go ahead as planned from 1 July 2012, and is likely to be delayed for one year, according to Self-Managed Super Fund Professionals' Association (SPAA) technical director Peter Burgess.
SPAA understands that the Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation, Bill Shorten, will announce the delay of the measure to 1 July 2013 before the end of the month.
Treasury is currently experiencing some "drafting issues" with the proposed ban on off-market transfers, which is "causing it a few headaches", Burgess said.
"In addition to the brokerage costs that SMSF trustees are going to have to incur because they have to go on market, they also run the risk of the market moving against them," he said.
"Since they can't be the other side to the trade, they have to wait until there's been a market price that determines the asset value. Then they can get into the market and buy it back," Burgess said.
"We continue to advocate for the removal of this proposal and for the introduction of an operating standard," he added.
SPAA director of education Graeme Colley said the ban on off-market transfers would have implications for employee share issue arrangements.
"If a public company wants to issue shares under employee share issue arrangements they can be transferred directly to the superannuation fund," he said.
But things would get complicated if the employee has an SMSF, Colley said.
"The question then becomes: does that company have to put the shares on the market before they can be transferred to the superannuation fund?" he said.
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