ATO hits SMSF trustees with record disqualifications, fines
The sanctions come as the Tax Office intensifies efforts to stop trustees from overstepping the mark.
The ATO disqualified a record 753 SMSF trustees and imposed $29 million in penalties last year and has flagged renewed resolve to crack down on those persistently breaking the law in 2023–24.
It said that compared to 2022, its compliance actions resulted in six times the amount of tax and penalties being imposed and more than triple the number of disqualifications.
It would “continue to take firm action against trustees who persistently fail to comply with their obligations and seriously breach the superannuation laws” throughout the next financial year.
The ATO has recorded a rise in non-lodgment in recent years with over a quarter of SMSFs not lodging their first return in 2020. In July, the ATO also warned of a rise in illegal early release schemes during the first half of the financial year.
In 2021, deputy commissioner Emma Rosenzweig warned too many trustees lacked the financial confidence and capability to manage their SMSFs.
“Trustees should understand that, when they choose to set up an SMSF, they are running a super fund themselves. With this comes a set of obligations, responsibilities and risks that they should be fully prepared to meet,” she said.
The ATO recommended trustees guilty of not following rules to use its early engagement and voluntary disclosure service before ATO intervention.
“We will take this into account when deciding what actions we need to take,” it said.
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