Smsf

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 the sustainability and

Are you an SMSF trustee who loves to travel? Sounds like a great lifestyle, however while planning your summer break you need to be aware that there can be negative consequences if you are out of the country for too long. How to keep your SMSF compliant even while travelling If you are a trustee

The concept of alternative investments encompasses a mix of assets and strategies that sit on the peripheral of traditional asset classes such as shares, property and cash. An attraction associated with alternative investments is their ability to deliver portfolio diversification — and hence potential risk abatement. The place for alternative investments in SMSF portfolios While

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 is not

One investment option that has surfaced relatively recently, and that SMSF trustees may consider as a part of their strategy to grow their fund, is investing through peer-to-peer lending. Peer-to-peer lending involves an investor – a trustee of the SMSF in this case – providing funds to an online lending platform. This platform, which must

A super legislative tsunami is on its way The bills proposing changes to the superannuation system were introduced into Parliament last week, on November 9. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Fair and Sustainable Superannuation) Bill 2016 (you can read the details here) contains the vast majority of the changes to the regulation and taxation treatment of

The government’s release of the second tranche of proposed superannuation changes, which covers concessional contributions, catch-up concessional contributions and removing the earnings tax exemption for transition to retirement income streams, also proposes introducing a general pension transfer balance cap. This will limit the amount of super a member can transfer to pension phase and enjoy

The continued solid growth in self managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) indicates that plenty of Australians consider themselves at least as capable of successfully managing their retirement savings investments as the professionals (or perhaps more so). With returns from the bigger retail super funds not always impressive, the surge towards SMSFs is not expected to diminish.

Back in April this year, the ATO issued a “practical compliance guideline” regarding limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs) established by SMSFs. The guideline (PCG 2016/5) set out when the Commissioner will accept that an LRBA is structured on arm’s length terms. Following on from this guidance, the ATO has recently published further guidance on these

In a move that seems to pre-empt a proposed investment option put to it by a “fractional” investment property platform, the ATO issued an announcement last week warning that SMSFs that provide “present day” real property benefits to members is contrary to the sole purpose text, and will render an SMSF non-compliant. The ATO stance