It is important to pay your taxes on time, here is why:
Updated: Dec 9, 2022
ATO warning to SMSFs:
"Paying the price for non-compliance"
👉🏻 When trustees of self-managed super funds (SMSFs) have not complied with the super laws, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has a number of fines available. One of these is the imposition of administrative penalties.
The total amount of the administrative penalty is determined by a variety of different criteria, including the following:
a. the nature of the violation
b. the date on which it was committed
c. the total amount of penalty units to which it is subject
For instance, if a Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) violates a provision in relation to borrowings during the 2021/22 financial year, the ATO may apply a penalty of 60 penalty units. Given that the rate of penalty for that year is $222 per unit, this would result in the SMSF trustee being required to pay a total of $13,320. If there are many violations of the law, the total cost may be significantly higher.
Because the value of a penalty unit for Commonwealth offenses committed on or after 1 January 2023 will be increased from $222 to $275, it is possible that an SMSF trustee will be liable for an even greater amount after 1 January 2023. We take note of the fact that the government recently introduced a Bill to Parliament with the intention of doing so.
The ATO fined SMSF trustees a total of around $3.4 million in administrative fines in the previous year for infractions such as trustees improperly accessing super benefits, loans, or other forms of financial assistance provided to members.
In addition, the fact that a trustee is assessed an administrative penalty does not mean that the ATO will not take any additional compliance action. For example, the ATO may still issue a notice of non-compliance or disqualify the relevant entity from acting as a trustee even if the trustee has been assessed an administrative penalty.
