SMSF Association Submission to Treasury – Strengthening the ABN System

SMSF Association Submission

The SMSF Association welcomes the opportunity to provide this submission in response to exposure draft Strengthening the ABN System Bill.

The SMSF Association supports designing a modern Australian Business Number system, which combats the Black Economy and improves the integrity of the GST and income tax systems.

It is the SMSF Association’s understanding that SMSFs are not the intended target of these reforms and as such we propose that SMSFs be exempt from periodic renewals.

SMSFs pose a minimal risk to the Black Economy as:

  • they have minimal engagement with the GST system as only a small number of SMSFs are registered for GST with limited ability to claim input tax credits (due to mainly holding input tax assets),
  • the SMSF Association does not believe that an ABN plays a role in perpetuating superannuation schemes, such as illegal early release of superannuation, and
  • they are currently subject to regular review through the yearly audit requirement and subject to pre-issue checks by the Australian Taxation Office when applying for ABNs.

SMSF Association Submission - Strengthening the ABN System

SMSF Association Submission