Superannuation continues to be an attractive tax shelter for those who can afford it. Self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) are particularly attractive to taxpayers who have accumulated enough in super and want to control how and where the funds are invested. But recent reports highlight the wealth inequality that superannuation has created particularly since a large part of the expensive superannuation tax concessions go to a small proportion of taxpayers.  

Many taxpayers still have relatively modest levels of superannuation.  

This session will consider the recent responses from the Government’s addressing some of the inequities by announcing or implementing measures to encourage savings in superannuation for those with low balances and curbing the generous tax breaks for those estimated 80,000 Australian with already substantial balances of some $3 million, including:  

• the non-arms’ length expenditure (NALE) rule for SMSFs which treats the amount of NALI arising from a NALE that is a general expense as being twice the difference between the expense that the SMSF incurred and the amount that might have been expected to be incurred  
• the (proposed) Div 296 tax which imposes a tax at a rate of 15 per cent for superannuation earnings corresponding to the percentage of an individual’s superannuation balance that exceeds $3 million for an income year commencing in 2025–26  
• reducing the age from which a person can make a downsizer contribution into superannuation from 60 years to 55 years  
• requiring – from 1 July 2026 – employers to pay their employees´ super at the same time as their salary and wages  

Other changes relevant to superannuation include:  

• exercise of the Commissioner’s remedial power to ensure that persons aged 67 to 75 who are an employee under the extended meaning in the SIS Act can meet the ‘work test’ for personal contributions  
• the Commissioner’s clarification of when a payment by a trustee to a fund to establish and build a risk reserve is deductible  
• further clarification on the employee / contractor distinction for the purposes of the Superannuation Guarantee obligation  
• changes to the treatment of the transfer balance cap for successor funds 

This webinar will be presented by one of TaxBanter’s experienced tax trainers.