The practice of requiring superannuation providers to report details of employer contributions to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) on an annual basis will continue, Assistant Treasurer, Peter Dutton, announced today.
Superannuation providers have previously been required to report details of employer contributions to the ATO and will be required to do so in the future.
This information provides important data to the ATO for its administration of the superannuation guarantee. It is used to screen out employers who meet their superannuation guarantee obligations from possible audit action by the ATO, prioritise cases of non-compliance and inform the auditor of the likely level of non-compliance.
“Without this data the ATO will be forced to rely on direct audit activities in order to undertake its compliance programmes. These activities are necessarily intrusive and disruptive to employers and superannuation providers as they involve demands for information on an ad hoc basis and may also entail visits to the superannuation provider or employer,” Mr Dutton said.
“The reporting system will capture information necessary to ensure that employees receive their superannuation guarantee entitlements while minimising disruption to employers and superannuation providers,” he said.
Under the revised arrangements superannuation providers will give reports to the ATO by 31October each year containing details of all employer superannuation contributions and total contributions paid to all members’ accounts for the previous financial year.