Government has no plans to crack down on SMSF borrowing
The government has no plans to review superannuation rules covering borrowing by fund trustees, the assistant treasurer Arthur Sinodinos said yesterday.According to a report in Financial Standard, Sinodinos told delegates at the SMSF Professionals' Association (SPAA) conference in Brisbane that his interest was in seeing that trustees got appropriate advice when they borrowed.Sinodinos said: "I am keeping an eye on the sector but we are not seeking to come in with heavy-handed regulation. People need to be appropriately licensed so the customer is getting the best possible advice."In 2007, the government made amendments to the Superannuation Industry Supervision Act that allowed fund trustees to borrow under limited recourse arrangements to fund investments.The policy change has been debated ever since. Critics argue that super fund members should not be exposed to credit risk, that trustees of self-managed funds could fall victim to property spruikers and that super funds gearing into residential property would create an asset bubble.According to the most recent data from the Australian Taxation Office, around three per cent of the assets in the $500 billion self-managed fund sector are geared.Sinodinos said: "I want to be very clear. There is no separate review of that underway."SPAA's chief executive, Andrea Slattery, said the association planned to introduce best practice guidelines for lenders and advisers.