ATO Finds $850 Million In Superannuation Guarantee Audit

I note the ATO have raised $850 million dollars recently with their Superannuation Guarantee Audits. Talk about a terrible situation – non-compliance by business owners and a piss-weak ATO system for collecting SGC. It’s been horrendous since it’s inception on 1st July 1992.

I’ve been in Public Practice for all of those years, learning about small business and advising small businesses. A quarterly obligation that wasn’t backed up by a lodged document with the ATO has meant employers have been able to let this key employee benefit get pushed back in their payments queue. It hasn’t been given the respect that it’s deserved.

As a result, it’s usually been employee whistle blowers who have brought this to the attention of the ATO so that they receive their rightful entitlements. Of course what has happened in the past is that the employer receives a notice for their whole workforce super requirements and they then have all their key assets (their people) off side. They have big penalties and interest to pay as well. Talk about a Shitstorm for their business culture…

Small Business is hard enough without the temptation of having a weak government system chase a key employee obligation.

Thankfully, Single Touch Payroll has arrived for larger employers and it’s due for smaller businesses of less than 20 employees shortly. Finally us employers will be reporting Employee Superannuation to the ATO on a regular basis and the ATO can get straight onto the slow payers and tell them to settle payments immediately or risk being driven out of business.

This system will be far better for all concerned. It will save the Australian people not just their entitled super, but the cost of the ATO having to chase this superannuation which has been so inefficient since 1992 and all the way up till today.

Single Touch Payroll? I say bring it on. It will solve multiple payment issues.  

Pat Mannix, Partner, Paris Financial