POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
AIST, ISN raise TASA concerns
Two bodies representing industry super funds have raised concerns about the uncertainties around who is covered by the Tax Agent Services Act (TASA).
The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) and the Industry Super Network (ISN) lodged a joint submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) last Friday, calling for a change in wording to ensure the provision of intra-fund advice is not impacted.
AIST and ISN requested the ‘advice' be replaced with ‘personal financial product advice', which would exclude intra-fund advice from the requirements contained in TASA.
The two industry fund bodies are worried that ‘advice' is not limited to financial product advice and may include general strategies.
"It is in this context that AIST and ISN do not believe that the limitation to services that are charged for as proposed in subsection 50-5(2A)(c) is restrictive enough," the submission read.
"Professionals who provide [intra-fund advice] services are a broad group and can include call centre operators, business development officers, member education personnel and others who would not ordinarily be considered to fall under the category of financial planners, as originally conceived."
The two bodies stated almost every discussion held with members would involve tax in one way or another and would thus constitute tax advice under the Act.
It is for this reason that AIST and ISN believe that the wording should be changed.
"Furthermore, AIST and ISN recommend that ‘personal financial product advice' have the same meaning as that contained at section 766B of the Corporations Act," the submission read.
The submission has also called for clear disclosure as to who would be responsible for the tax advice provided. It also raised questions about how the TASA regime would work in relation to the advisers' best interest duty required under the Future of Financial Advice reforms package.
AUTHOR
Staff Writer
Money Management staff writers are writers who contribute to the website from time to time. If you would like to discuss the content contained within this article please contact us.
Recommended for you
The lower outlook for inflation has set the stage for another two rate cuts over the first half of 2026, according to Westpac.
With private asset valuations emerging as a key concern for both regulators and the broader market, Apollo Global Management has called on the corporate regulator to issue clear principles on valuation practices, including guidance on the disclosures it expects from market participants.
Institutional asset owners are largely rethinking their exposure to the US, with private markets increasingly being viewed as a strategic investment allocation, new research has shown.
Australia’s corporate regulator has been told it must quickly modernise its oversight of private markets, after being caught off guard by the complexity, size, and opacity of the asset class now dominating institutional portfolios.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
92.15 3 y p.a(%)
2
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
53.24 3 y p.a(%)
3
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
43.15 3 y p.a(%)
4
DomaCom Shoreline North Coogee
36.26 3 y p.a(%)
5
GAM LSA Private Shares AU I
35.87 3 y p.a(%)
