The ATO have confirmed it will waive the Part 7 penalties for clients who voluntarily disclose historical underpayment of the superannuation guarantee, despite the proposed amnesty not yet law.
The SG amnesty measure was originally intended to apply from 24 May 2018 till 23 May 2019, but has yet to be legislated.
The Tax Office has now confirmed it has waived the Part 7 penalty in full for those who have made a voluntary disclosure.
Employers will still have to pay the SG they owe to their employee, the interest amount, and the $20 administration component per employee per quarter.
“Consistent with our existing approaches in other instances where people come forward voluntarily, when we receive these SG notifications, the fact that they have come forward to the ATO is a strong consideration in the level of discretional penalty applied,” an ATO spokesperson told Accountants Daily.
“In relation to SG, the ATO only has the discretion to remit the Part 7 penalty. With regard to those taxpayers who made a voluntary disclosure in anticipation of the proposed amnesty, we will remit the Part 7 penalty in full.”
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