The simple answer is yes – if the SMSF’s trust deed permits it. If the trust deed permitted the trustee to claim the deduction, then the corporate trustee company could bill the superannuation fund for the expense. This would be assessable income to the corporate trustee company and the trustee would be able to claim…
June 6, 2018
Australia’s SMSF Army
Written by Robin Bowerman, Head of Corporate Affairs at Vanguard Australia/Board Director of the SMSF Association Australia’s army of Chief Investment Officers is marching into retirement. This year’s Vanguard/Investment Trends SMSF survey shows that more than 50 per cent of the $720 billion invested in SMSFs is now being managed by retirees. The self-managed super…
Common trustee trip-ups and how to avoid them
May 2018 Jordan George, Head of Policy, SMSF Association With the flurry of new superannuation changes, running an SMSF can be complex. While taking advice from professional advisors is encouraged to help you run your fund, ultimately you, as an SMSF trustee, are responsible for complying with the superannuation and tax laws. The reality is…
May 30, 2018
A higher standard
Written by Robin Bowerman, Head of Corporate Affairs at Vanguard/Board Director of the SMSF Association The superannuation system exists for a sole purpose – to provide Australians income in retirement. The release this week of the Productivity Commission’s report on the efficiency and competitiveness of the super system provides a comprehensive analysis – a three-stage…
May 23, 2018
Why a new financial year is often a super crunch time
Written by Robin Bowerman, Head of Corporate Affairs at Vanguard/Board Director of the SMSF Association The approach of a new financial year is often a super crunch time. It’s a time when many investors decide whether to stay with their large super fund, switch to another big fund or setup a self-managed fund. There are,…
May 16, 2018
Super money in, super money out
Written by Robin Bowerman, Head of Corporate Affairs at Vanguard/Board Director of the SMSF Association Checking your super fund’s cash flow of contributions in and pension payments out is a particularly critical part of end-of-financial-year planning for 2017-18. Don’t leave it until the last minute. Super money in Well before June 30, make sure you…
May 2, 2018
Invest in yourself as an investor
Written by Robin Bowerman, Head of Market Strategy and Communications at Vanguard/Board Director of the SMSF Association After two weeks of surprising and concerning revelations about the inner workings of some of the larger financial planning businesses in the country, it was refreshing to attend the SMSF trustee expo in Melbourne last weekend. It was…
April 27, 2018
Opposition to the Australian Labor Party’s Franking Credit Policy Letter
The SMSF Association has drafted a letter that you can send to Federal Members of Parliament (MPs) and Senators to express your opposition to Labor’s franking credit policy. The letter details the policy weaknesses and unfairness of the Labor policy. This letter can be used for you to send a personal letter to your MP…
April 26, 2018
Personal Superannuation Contributions – 10% rule repealed
With the end of the financial year fast approaching, it is the perfect time to start thinking about your income tax deductions. Under the new Government changes to super, effective 1 July 2017, the 10% maximum earnings condition for personal superannuation contributions was removed for the 2017-18 and future financial years. This rule provided that…
April 17, 2018
SMSF Association’s Policy Position: Labor’s Proposed Imputation Credit Policy
Dividend imputation system distorted The SMSF Association supports the current policy settings for the dividend imputation system. The current system prevents double taxation on company profits and ensures shareholders are taxed on company profits at their marginal tax rate. A shareholder in a company is therefore in the same economic position as a sole proprietor…