Grants received by small businesses and primary producers by Cyclone Seroja (April 2021) are non-assessable and non-exempt income. It applies to grants paid in 2021-2022 and later income years.
Treasury has released draft legislation, and the Government of Australia has agreed to amend Australian domestic taxation law to stop the taxation of offshore income of Indian firms providing technical services to Australia. This would resolve the issue that the Indian Government has raised about the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Australia for the avoidance of double taxation.
Customs duty on electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles with customs value less than the fuel-efficient luxury car tax threshold ($84,916 for 2022-23) will have a “free” rate of duty. It applies to goods entered for home consumption from 1 July 2022.
GST is free for residential care services and accommodation in retirement villages and privately funded nursing homes and hostels.
Financial Services
Financial advisor professional standards: consultation update
The Government has advised that Treasury is developing a consultation paper on streamlining the education requirements for financial advisors, including new entrants. The Assistant Treasurer, Stephen Jones, said Treasury will also consult on the Code of Ethics in 2023 after the Government has considered its response to the Quality of Advice review.
The consultation is in response to the Government’s election commitment to remove the tertiary education requirements for financial advisors who had passed the exam, had 10 years’ experience and a clean record of financial practice. The deadline for existing advisors to pass the exam is 30 September 2022. After this deadline, Mr. Jones said Treasury will explore areas where the exam could be improved.
Financial Services and Credit Panel: ASIC guidance
ASIC has updated its Regulatory Guide (RG 263) about the Financial Services and Credit Panel (FSCP) and issued a new “your rights” Information Sheet (INFO 273) for financial advisors in relation to FSCP decisions. The FSCP is the new disciplinary body for financial advisors and has been given its own powers to take action in response to financial advisor misconduct. INFO 273 outlines the rights of financial advisors affected by an FSCP decision, including how to make an application to vary or revoke FSCP decisions.
SMSF
APRA super performance tests for choice products deferred
The Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Amendment (Your Future, Your Super – Addressing Underperformance in Superannuation) Regulations 2022 has been registered to amend the SIS Regulations to defer APRA annual performance tests for trustee-directed products for 12 months to 1 July 2023.
The Regulations give effect to the Assistant Treasurer’s announcement on 7 July 2022 to pause the extension of the APRA performance test beyond MySuper to Choice products for 12 months while it conducts a review of the Your Future, Your Super laws (YFYS laws). The review will consider if the measures create “perverse or unintended” outcomes by discouraging certain investment decisions or certain infrastructure investments.
Superfund internal dispute resolution: compliance issues
ASIC has called on superannuation fund trustees to strengthen their internal dispute resolution (IDR) arrangements to ensure member complaints are handled in an effective, fair, and timely way. This follows the first stage of ASIC surveillance, which found indicators of significant compliance issues with the enforceable IDR requirements in Regulatory Guide RG 271.
ASIC said its surveillance identified problem areas that need fixing, including the requirement for trustees to record all member complaints. ASIC is concerned that some trustees may be adopting an inappropriately narrow definition of a “complaint.” ASIC also found that 2.7% of IDR responses were sent after the 45-day maximum timeframe generally required under RG 271.
Source: IPA Australia and ATO
