Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

The Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation has provided the following answer to the Honourable Senator's question:

(1) (a) Table 1: Number of individuals exceeding the contributions caps in 2009-10 and 2010-11, by cap type as at 8 February 2012.

* includes individuals who have exceeded both the concessional and non-concessional contributions caps.

# The data for excess contributions made in the 2010-11 year is incomplete and the number of individuals exceeding the caps is expected to increase as self managed superannuation funds lodge their annual returns and individuals on income tax lodgement programs lodge tax returns.

Not all individuals identified as exceeding the contributions caps will receive an assessment. A number of cases will be subject to correction of reporting errors by funds. Additionally, the ATO takes a practical, risk based approach in relation to cases where the caps are exceeded by only a small amount.

(b) Table 2: Average and median excess contributions for 2009-10 and 2010-11, by cap type as at 8 February 2012.

# The data for 2010-11 is not complete and the averages could change as self managed superannuation funds lodge their annual returns and individuals on income tax lodgement programs lodge their tax returns.

^ The data for 2010-11 is not complete and the median will change as individuals on income tax lodgment programs lodge their tax returns and claim a deduction for personal superannuation contributions.

(c)

The ATO does not separately record the concessional and non-concessional components of excess contributions tax collections. For excess contributions made in 2009-10 year, $108.6 million excess contributions tax has been collected as at 24 January 2012. As not all 2009-10 liabilities are due or have been paid, the amount of excess contributions tax collected for excess contributions made in 2009-10 will continue to increase. This figure will increase as liabilities become due and outstanding debt is collected.

Assessments are yet to be issued in respect of excess contributions made in the 2010-11 year, therefore no tax has been collected.

(d) The ATO does not separately record the concessional and non-concessional components of excess contributions tax collections. As at 24 January 2012, the average amount of excess contributions tax paid per individual on all excess contributions made in the 2009-10 year is $2,771. This average could change as further 2009-10 liabilities are paid.

Assessments are yet to be issued in respect of excess contributions made in the 2010-11 year, therefore no tax has been paid.

(e) Table 3: Average and median amount of excess concessional contributions that count towards the non-concessional contributions cap for 2009-10 and 2010-11, by cap type as at 8 February 2012.

These figures are the same as in Table 2 as all excess concessional contributions count towards the non-concessional cap.

(f) Table 4: Average excess for cases that exceed both caps for 2009-10, as at 8 February 2012.

Table 5: Median excess for cases that exceed both caps for 2009-10, as at 8 February 2012.

Table 6: Average excess for cases that exceed both caps for 2010-11, as at 8 February 2012*.

Table 7: Median excess for cases that exceed both caps for 2010-11, as at 8 February 2012*.

* The data for 2010-11 is not complete and the averages could change as self managed superannuation funds lodge their annual returns and individuals on income tax lodgement programs lodge their tax returns.

(g) The ATO does not prepare forecasts of the number of people expected to exceed the caps or on the amount of excess contributions tax expected to be collected.

(2) Table 8: Concessional cases, 2010-11 as at 8 February 2012.

A high percentage of individuals who have exceeded the contributions caps have yet to lodge their income tax returns for 2010-11 and their marginal tax rate for 2010-11 is unknown. Lodgement of these returns could materially affect the distributions in Table 8 above.

(3) (a) The ATO does not separate its costs to administer the contributions caps into the concessional and non-concessional components. The actual cost of administering the contributions caps in 2009-10 was $12.98 million.

(b) The actual cost to administer the contributions caps in 2010-11 was $39.97 million.

Around a third of the administration costs were from the processing of backlogs in issuing ECT assessments for excess contributions made in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 years and to process increased volumes of assessments from the reduction of the concessional contributions cap in 2009-10.

A quarter of the costs is a result of increasing volumes of requests for review, exercise of the Commissioner's discretion and other interpretive advice arising from the increasing volumes of assessments that were out in the community.

A fifth of the expenditure related to costs to design and implement new policy measures, predominantly the proposed measure to allow individuals aged 50 or over to make concessional contributions of up to $50,000 provided the individual's total superannuation balances are less than $500,000.

(4) The estimated cost of administering the contributions caps in 2011-12 is $50.94 million.

Approximately half of the expected increase in costs from 2010-11 to 2011-12 is as a result of increased volumes of requests for review, exercise of the Commissioner's discretion and other interpretive advice.

These increased volumes of work are a consequence of increased volumes of assessments arising from the reduction of the concessional contributions cap in the 2009-10 year.

The remaining half of the increase results from design and implementation costs associated with the new policy measures to: