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17th Nov, 2020
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has published new guidance on the interaction between JobKeeper payments and satisfying the “work test” for the purpose of voluntary superannuation contributions.
Where an individual is aged 67–74 and is stood down from their employment due to the impacts of COVID-19 but is in receipt of the JobKeeper payment, APRA says a super fund trustee can accept a personal contribution from that individual under the super “work test” rules. APRA’s view is that where an employer is receiving the JobKeeper wage subsidy for an individual, registrable superannuation entity (RSE) licensees should consider the individual to be “gainfully employed” for the purposes of the “work test”, even if that individual has been fully stood down and is not actually performing work. In APRA’s view, this is appropriate because the individual is still employed and is obtaining a valuable benefit from their employer.
17th Nov, 2020
The ATO has advised that it will not apply a penalty for self managed super fund (SMSF) trustees that have difficulty obtaining evidence to support market valuations of assets due to COVID-19.
SMSF trustees are required to provide objective and supportable evidence to their auditor each year to establish that assets of the fund are valued at market value.
During the 2020 and 2021 financial years, the ATO will not apply a penalty if it is satisfied that the difficulty in obtaining valuation evidence is due to COVID-19. Instead, the ATO will send the SMSF trustee a letter advising them to ensure they comply with the ATO’s valuation guidelines and have supporting valuation evidence by the time of their next audit if possible. However, the ATO warns that repeated contraventions of the valuation evidence requirements could lead to future penalties.
17th Nov, 2020
The Government has formally extended the ability for companies to convene annual general meetings (AGMs) and other prescribed meetings entirely online until March 2021.
This extension allows company boards to:
Company officers are also permitted to use electronic signatures to meet the relevant legal requirements.