Issued by authority of the Minister for Revenue
and Assistant Treasurer

Superannuation (Self Managed Superannuation Funds) Taxation Act 1987

Superannuation (Self Managed Superannuation Funds) Taxation Regulations 1999

Superannuation (Self Managed Superannuation Funds) Taxation Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 1)

The Tax Laws Amendment (Simplified Superannuation) Act 2007 and related Acts give effect to the Simplified Superannuation reforms, as announced in the Government’s 5 September 2006 statement, A Plan to Simplify and Streamline Superannuation – Outcomes of Consultation. These reforms make superannuation easier to understand, improve incentives to work and save, and provide greater flexibility over how superannuation savings can be drawn down in retirement.

The initiatives include improving the regulation of self managed superannuation funds.

Subsection 22(1) of the Superannuation (Self Managed Superannuation Funds) Taxation Act 1987 (SMSF Tax Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the SMSF Tax Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by the SMSF Tax Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the SMSF Tax Act.

The Superannuation (Self Managed Superannuation Funds) Taxation Regulations 1999, specify a penalty amount of $10 per month for the late payment of a fund’s supervisory levy.

The purpose of the Regulations is to amend the Superannuation (Self Managed Superannuation Funds) Taxation Regulations 1999 in order to remove this late payment amount.

Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment A.

The SMSF Tax Act specifies no conditions that need to be met before the power to make the Regulations may be exercised.

The Regulations commence on 1 July 2007.

The Regulations are legislative instruments for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

The draft Regulations were made available on the Simpler Super website for public consultation.
ATTACHMENT A

Details of the Superannuation (Self Managed Superannuation Funds) Taxation Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 1)

Regulation 1 specifies the name of the Regulations as the Superannuation (Self Managed Superannuation Funds) Taxation Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 1).

Regulation 2 provides that the Regulations commence on 1 July 2007.

Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Superannuation (Self Managed Superannuation Funds) Taxation Regulations 1999 (Taxation Regulations).

Regulation 4 provides that the amendments made by the Regulations apply for the 2007-08 year of income and each subsequent income year.

Schedule 1 – Amendment relating to self managed superannuation funds

Regulation 5 of the Taxation Regulations currently specifies an amount of $10 per month as a penalty for the late payment of a self managed superannuation fund’s (SMSF) annual supervisory levy.

The new Regulations remove the amount of the late payment penalty.

The removal of the $10 late payment penalty is a consequence of amendments to the SMSF Tax Act. As part of the Government’s Simplified Superannuation reforms, the penalty for the late payment of an SMSF’s annual supervisory levy will be replaced by the general interest charge under the Taxation Administration Act 1953, consistent with the penalties for the late payment of other liabilities under the income tax laws.

Item 1 removes the $10 late payment amount by omitting regulation 5 of the Taxation Regulations.