Superannuation Amnesty – Now Law

This week the Parliament passed legislation to enact the Superannuation Amnesty.

The Amnesty is designed to encourage employers to come forward and disclose past quarters (from 1 July 1992 to 24 May 2018) where they have not paid Superannuation Guarantee (SG) to employees in full (i.e. an SG shortfall still exists).

The Amnesty period in which employers can come forward is from 24 May 2018 and ends six months after the date the legislation receives Royal Assent (therefore until at least late August 2020).

Under the Amnesty, the employer in coming forward will enjoy the following benefits:

• Tax deductions for payments of the SG Charge (these would otherwise not be tax deductible)
• No administrative penalty of $20 per employee
• No Part 7 penalties (which could otherwise be 200% of the SG Charge owing).

It is anticipated more than 7,000 additional employers will come forward now that the legislation has passed.

Given that SG non-compliance can now be more easily detected by the ATO, non-complying employers should strongly consider their options.

Employers who do wish to take advantage of the Amnesty should contact the ATO.