ATO mulls changes to events-based reporting time frames
Following industry pushback and consultation with professional bodies and software providers, the ATO is considering adjusting the time frames required for events-based reporting.
Speaking in a webinar, SMSF Academy director Aaron Dunn said there has been a lot of commentary about the proposed requirements for events-based reporting with the ATO encountering “quite a bit of industry pushback”.
“As a result of this industry pushback, the ATO has undertaken a lot of consultation meetings with the professional bodies, the software providers and the professionals in general around the implementation of event-based reporting,” said Mr Dunn.
“[The ATO] are taking on board a lot of the concerns that exist around the current time frames, in particular, the 10-day period after the end of the month,” said Mr Dunn.
One of the key concerns that has been raised by the SMSF industry, he said, is that there are a lot of inconsistencies in respect to the varying reporting time frames for different events.
While he said it is commendable that the ATO has introduced carve-outs to deal with events that would be difficult for SMSFs to report in 10 days such as the commencement of pensions, these inconsistencies are also leading to confusion.
“This inconsistency is really the main issue at the moment, so if I was a betting man, I think we may end up with end of quarter reporting,” said Mr Dunn.
“There is going to need to be a reporting requirement, we’re never going to get away from that, and it’s never going to be just an annual reporting requirement, simply because we need to ensure timely reporting of events.”
Miranda Brownlee
Miranda Brownlee is the deputy editor of SMSF Adviser, which is the leading source of news, strategy and educational content for professionals working in the SMSF sector.
Since joining the team in 2014, Miranda has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest superannuation stories in Australia, and has reported extensively on technical strategy and legislative updates.
Miranda also has broad business and financial services reporting experience, having written for titles including Investor Daily, ifa and Accountants Daily.
