Common SMSF breaches - 17/12/2009Speaking at conferences of superannuation industry professionals earlier in the year, the ATO Deputy Commissioner responsible for superannuation, Neil Olesen, said the top three breaches were:
In addresses to the annual SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia conference and a later Institute of Chartered Accountants conference, Mr Olesen made a number of points relevant to trustees in the current economic circumstances. Mr Olesen noted that educating trustees about their obligations and responsibilities was generally the first step when there was a breach. ‘However, where people do not try to do the right thing or deliberately ignore the rules, we will be tougher. Illegal early release of super funds continues to be a problem.' ‘In the current economic climate, we are concerned that trustees will be tempted to access their superannuation benefits to pay for personal expenses,’ said Mr Olesen. ‘We are developing ways to stop illegal early release of super money, including working closely with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to strengthen the rollover process to SMSFs to prevent transfers to individuals who aren’t even members of the fund,’ Mr Olesen said. Mr Olesen also noted a rise in small business bankruptcies and highlighted problems that could occur for SMSFs where a trustee became bankrupt. He noted that a person who is a bankrupt cannot continue to act as a trustee for an SMSF and there are potentially serious consequences for intentionally continuing to do so. Source: ATO SMSF newsletter - Edition 11  | Categories:General |
