By: Jackson Stiles A Senate committee has been told that the devastating problem of unpaid superannuation is at least $2 billion worse than previous estimates. Back in December, a joint Industry Super Australia (ISA) and Cbus report exploded into the headlines by estimating that bosses had ripped off 2.4 million workers to the tune of $3.6 billion worth […]
The ATO has just released the latest of what has become a series of annual publications. The report, Self-managed superannuation funds: A statistical overview, started being published in late 2011 and has become an anticipated event for many in the SMSF arena — containing as it usually does some good news. The statistical report […]
By: Max Newnham Small business owners are disadvantaged when it comes to superannuation tax deduction rules and the Centrelink income test. There have been and still are many examples of where small business owners are disadvantaged compared with employees. Superannuation tax-deduction rules and the Centrelink income test are two examples. Under the current Centrelink income test, […]
By: Thuy Ong Superannuation funds returned average growth around 7.2 per cent in the 2016 calendar year, the fifth positive year in a row, helped by a Santa/Trump rally boost of 2.1 per cent in December, according to a report by independent researcher SuperRatings. The research firm said the gains were made despite concerns about low […]
By: Steve Burnham New research from Roy Morgan has found that in the six months to last November, overall satisfaction with the financial performance of superannuation was 58.4%, unchanged from October but down by 0.9% points over the year. However, only 18.5% of fund members said that they were “very satisfied”, down from 19% a year […]
By: Steve Burnham The changes to the super system, announced by the government in the 2016–17 federal budget, have now been passed by Parliament. Overview of superannuation system changes for SMSFs. As reflected in the name of the legislation, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Fair and Sustainable Superannuation) Bill 2016, these changes were designed to improve […]
By: Steve Burnham Recent legislation has introduced several superannuation rule changes. Among them is a new “transfer balance account”, which each recipient of a superannuation pension will be required to have. In other words, individuals receiving superannuation income stream benefits will need to keep a transfer balance account. The use of “accounts” for tax law purposes […]
By: Steve Burnham Whether you’ve been on a working visa and have been slogging away bagging bananas in Tully for six months, or decided to quit your city job and move to Peru, your employer has been putting money aside for your superannuation. Among sorting out all your affairs, you’re probably also wondering what will happen […]
BY: GUEST AUTHOR Are you still paying your employees’ super contributions manually via cheque, EFT or BPAY directly to funds? If so, it’s likely you aren’t compliant with the new, compulsory standard for paying super – SuperStream. As part of SuperStream, you need to pay and report your employees’ superannuation contributions electronically; allowing payments to be […]
By: Rod Myer The Australian Taxation Office has fired a shot across the bows of plans by DomaCom, an investment company, to allow self-managed super fund (SMSF) investors to live in houses their funds own. In response to enquiries from The New Daily, the ATO issued a statement signed by Assistant Commissioner Kasey Macfarlane, saying it was not […]
