APRA has released its Quarterly Superannuation Performance publication and the Quarterly MySuper Statistics report for the June quarter 2017. As at 30 June 2017, superannuation assets totalled $2.324 trillion (up 10% from $2.113 trillion in June 2016).
Total assets in MySuper products amounted to $595 billion (up 25.5% from $474 billion in June 2016).
Self-managed super fund (SMSF) assets totalled $697 billion (up 9.8% from $635 billion in June 2016) held in over 596,000 SMSFs, representing 30% of all super assets.
Super assets total $2.3 trillion at June 2017
Wednesday, September 13th, 2017First Home Super Saver Scheme – draft legislation
Wednesday, September 13th, 2017Treasury has released draft legislation to implement the 2017–2018 Federal Budget superannuation measures aimed at improving housing affordability by the establishment of the First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSSS).
The FHSSS will allow voluntary superannuation contributions made from 1 July 2017 to be withdrawn for a first home deposit starting from 1 July 2018. The scheme provides for up to $15,000 per year (and $30,000 in total) to be withdrawn from superannuation.
TIP: To be eligible to use the FHSSS, a person must be 18 years or over, have not used the scheme before and never have owned property before in Australia.
Segregated current pension assets
Wednesday, September 13th, 2017A warning has been issued from the Actuaries Institute that tens of thousands of self-managed super funds (SMSFs) could be at risk of incorrectly claiming exempt current pension income (ECPI) under the ATO’s approach to segregated current pension assets.
Super system reforms
Wednesday, September 13th, 2017Australian Prudential Registration Authority (APRA) has written to RSE licensees setting out its approach to the Government’s super system reforms aimed at enhancing APRA’s prudential powers to improve member outcomes. Under the proposed reforms, the current “scale test” will be replaced with an “outcomes test” requiring MySuper trustees to attest to outcomes promoting the financial interests of members on a broader range of indicators.
GST: simplified accounting for food retailers
Wednesday, September 13th, 2017The ATO has released a draft determination on the choice available to you, if you are a food retailer, to use a simplified accounting method (SAM) to help you to work out your net amount by estimating your GST-free sales and GST-free acquisitions of trading stock.
The Draft SAM is substantially the same as the previous determination it replaces. If you were eligible to use a particular SAM specified in the previous determination, you will continue to be eligible to use that SAM under the draft determination.
TIP: Are you a food retailer? We can help you to use the simplified accounting method for your business.
Activity statements can now be lodged in advance
Wednesday, September 13th, 2017The ATO says nil activity statements can be generated early in some cases. Under normal bulk processes, activity statements generally issue from the ATO by the end of the month.
However, the ATO says there may be a specific reason for a business to access its activity statements early, such as: if you are a short-term visitor (for example, you are an entertainer or sports person and will be leaving during the relevant period); or know that you will be travelling when an activity statement is due.
TIP: Activity statements can be generated for up to six months in advance.
ATO increases its scrutiny on work-related expenses
Wednesday, September 13th, 2017Despite wide publicity on the issue, the ATO has reminded taxpayers that it is increasing its scrutiny on work-related expenses. Last year over 6.3 million people made a work-related expense claim for clothing and laundry expenses, totalling almost $1.8 billion. Common mistakes the ATO has seen include people claiming ineligible clothing, claiming for something without having spent the money, and not being able to explain the basis for how the claim was calculated.
TIP: Unsure about what you can claim as work-related expenses? Talk to us to avoid making a mistake.
Further guidance for tax losses via a new “similar business” test
Wednesday, September 13th, 2017The ATO has released a draft guideline on how they will apply the new “similar business test” to supplement the existing “same business test” used for testing whether a company can utilise an earlier year tax loss.
The draft guideline says the similar business test will operate in a way that is comparable to the same business test, and that the overall business of a company must satisfy the similar business test to access losses. The focus remains on the identity of a business, as well as continuity of business activities to generate assessable income.
Bill to increase Medicare levy
Wednesday, September 13th, 2017The Medicare Levy Amendment (National Disability Insurance Scheme Funding) Bill 2017 has been introduced to implement the Government’s 2017–2018 Budget announcement to increase the Medicare levy by 0.5% to 2.5% from 1 July 2019 in order to help finance the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Nine other Bills have been introduced to increase the following rates that are linked to the top personal tax rate.
TIP: Think you may be affected by personal tax rate changes? Contact us to find out more.
Companies should consider reporting tax liabilities: AASB
Monday, August 21st, 2017Sometimes it’s unclear how tax law applies to a company transaction or circumstance and how the ATO will treat it. New guidance from the International Financial Reporting Standards Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) explains how companies should reflect this uncertainty in their accounting for income taxes.
Although the new guidance isn’t in effect until January 2019, the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) recommends that all Australian companies reassess whether to record a tax liability in their 2017 reporting.
