Superannuation Amnesty Bill

After nearly two years in the planning, the superannuation guarantee amnesty bill has now passed both houses and is awaiting royal assent. As a result, employers have a window of opportunity to ‘set things right before much tougher penalties apply’.

So what exactly is the bill and what does it mean for my business?

If you have any superannuation payments that are still owing to employees from between 1st July 1992 and 31st March 2018, then the bill that was passed on Monday 24th February will enable you to pay these amounts and they will not incur the usual penalties and administration charges.

Employers will have a window of 6 months from the date of royal assent to pay both the super owed and the interest accrued.  These payments will also be tax deductible.  If an employer does not come forward during the amnesty period then they will face both the administration penalty of $20/employee/quarter and the Part 7 penalties which could be up to 200% of the unpaid or late superannuation if they get caught.

The ATO are continually evolving their audit processes and with the introduction of Single Touch Payroll it is becoming easier for the tax office to detect non-compliant behavior.