Tax Commissioner Michael D'Ascenzo  has announced that employers who do not meet their superannuation obligations will be targeted under the ATO's compliance activities and practices this year.

 

Superannuation obligations are one of several focus areas identified by the ATO as significant risks to tax and superannuation compliance this year. Others are:

  • occupations that have shown a pattern of relatively high levels of work-related claims, including IT managers, plumbers and defence force non-commissioned officers
  • high income earners involved in tax avoidance schemes
  • unreported cash transactions within the plastering and café industries
  • contractor arrangements, in particular in the construction industry, and
  • the self-managed superannuation fund sector

 

Last year the ATO followed up complaints about unpaid superannuation with approximately 12,000 employers.

For 2012-13, the ATO will:

  • automatically pay low value previously lost super to 240,000 people (with an average value of around $80);
  • analyse the top 200 self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) based on total assets and select 25 SMSFs with the highest levels of risk for a comprehensive audit, in addition to our ongoing monitoring and investigation of SMSF compliance with income tax requirements;
  • conduct around 400 audits with employers identified to be high-risk of failing to pay employee superannuation contributions, including an industry focus on cafes and restaurants, real estate businesses, and carpentry businesses in home building or construction;
  • check superannuation guarantee compliance through 3,000 employer reviews;
  • contact around 13,000 employers regarding complaints about unpaid superannuation;
  • Address excess contributions paid into superannuation funds will also continue to be a focus;
  • provide assistance to large super funds help them comply with their income tax obligations; and look at a range of areas including group life deduction, foreign income tax offset, fund mergers and capital gains and capital losses.

 

More detail is in the  Compliance program 2012-13.