Are you and your Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF) protected from the latest changes?
Running your business and setting up a SMSF can be a great way to plan ahead for your retirement or to protect your current assets from any penalties.
Recently, the Government introduced Section 166 into the SIS Act 1993 (rules of SMSF). This was to give the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) more immediate power to penalise trustees of SMSFs if their fund was found to have breached under this Section of the (SIS Act 1993). Currently the ATO have recognised 17 common breaches that have a penalty attached.
As you may be aware, SMSF regulations are very complex and change all the time and if the ATO find you (trustee of the fund) have breached these regulations they can now simply impose a penalty of up to $12,600 per breach (called a Trustee Administrative Penalty) per trustee paid directly out of your pocket! (It CANNOT be paid out or your SMSF).
In a recent presentation from Dana Fleming, Assistant Commissioner ATO, Ms Fleming stated: “Trustees are ultimately responsible and liable for the maintenance of their SMSF and cannot shift the blame to their professional advisers for contraventions.”
“Trustees may face significant penalties if they don’t comply with the regulatory obligations and requirements that come with running a SMSF. If you don’t run your SMSF properly, we may impose a penalty.”
The ATO wants SMSF Trustees to be more compliance conscious, and to enforce this, it is expected that the ATO will further significantly increase its audit activity on SMSFs over the coming years.
The ATO has issued over $3.3 million in trustee penalties already! Don’t let it be you.
Fitzpatrick & Co has a solution that can assist in this area. Every day matters. Contact the office today!
Fitzpatrick & Co have specialised in the horticulture and arboriculture industry for over 30 years providing assistance and financial support to companies, associations and events. We are there when your industry needs you.
For questions about your current policies, or how Fitzpatrick & Co can tailor an insurance package for you please contact Mick Le Grand at Fitzpatrick & Co. on (03) 8544 1600 or email mickl@fitzpatrick.com.au.