The AAT has denied a taxpayer’s request that the Commissioner reallocate concessional contributions received by his superannuation fund in July 2009 to the 2008-09 financial year as it found no “special circumstances” existed to warrant the Commissioner’s discretion under s 292-465 of the ITAA 1997.
The Tribunal heard the taxpayer had arranged with his employer for part of his salary to be paid by way of monthly salary sacrificed super contributions into the fund and that he managed the amount of those contributions. In 2009-10, contributions made to the fund totalled $52,196. The excess contribution of $2,195.96 was as a result of a contribution on 8 July 2009 of $2,508 by way of salary sacrifice contribution. The Commissioner assessed excess contributions tax of $692.
The taxpayer argued that “special circumstances” existed to support his contention that the excess contribution should be reallocated to 2008-09. The taxpayer was of the opinion that he had ensured that his contributions stayed below the cap by around $700 and that if any other contributions had been made, they were made outside of his control. The taxpayer also asserted that it was reasonable for him to rely on the employer to make payments on or prior to year-end.
The Tribunal said a late contribution by an employer following year-end is not of itself something “out of the ordinary”. Further, the Tribunal was not persuaded, on the basis of past contribution practices, that the taxpayer was entitled to assume that the final contribution for 2008-09 would be made on or before 30 June 2009. Rather, the Tribunal was of the view that it was “reasonably foreseeable” that, in the circumstances, a payment would be made in July 2009, which would be counted towards to the 2009-10 year. Accordingly, the Commissioner’s decision was affirmed.
(AAT Case [2012] AATA 282, Re Kuyper and FCT, AAT, Ref No: 2011/4601, Hughes M, 11 May 2012.)
[LTN 119, 22/6]