ATO Interpretative Decision

ATO ID 2001/527 (Withdrawn)

Superannuation

Superannuation Contributions Tax: Termination Payment Surcharge Liability and period over which Eligible Termination Payment (ETP) taken to have accrued
FOI status: may be released

This ATO ID is withdrawn as it is a straight application of the law and does not contain an interpretative decision.

This document incorporates revisions made since original publication. View its history and amending notices, if applicable.

CAUTION: This is an edited and summarised record of a Tax Office decision. This record is not published as a form of advice. It is being made available for your inspection to meet FOI requirements, because it may be used by an officer in making another decision.

This ATOID provides you with the following level of protection:

If you reasonably apply this decision in good faith to your own circumstances (which are not materially different from those described in the decision), and the decision is later found to be incorrect you will not be liable to pay any penalty or interest. However, you will be required to pay any underpaid tax (or repay any over-claimed credit, grant or benefit), provided the time limits under the law allow it. If you do intend to apply this decision to your own circumstances, you will need to ensure that the relevant provisions referred to in the decision have not been amended or repealed. You may wish to obtain further advice from the Tax Office or from a professional adviser.

Issue

Is the taxpayer, entitled to amend an assessment of surcharge on a termination payment in accordance with the Termination Payments Tax (Assessment and Collection) Act 1997 (TPTA) where the eligible service period was incorrectly reported?

Decision

Yes, the taxpayer is entitled to amend the termination payments surcharge where the eligible service period was incorrectly recorded.

Facts

The taxpayer received an ETP group certificate from the employer with an incorrect commencement date. The commencement date was reported as being after 20 August 1996, and should have been several years earlier than the 20 August 1996.

The eligible termination payment was received after 20 August 1996. The eligible termination payment consisted entirely of Post June 1983 untaxed element. The taxpayer's adjusted taxable income (ATI) for termination payments surcharge was above the surcharge threshold for the year of income meaning that surcharge was payable.

Reasons for Decision

When a termination payment has been made after 20 August 1996, the termination payments surcharge is payable only on the part of the termination payment that is taken to have accrued after 20 August 1996 under section 9 of the TPTA.

Section 12 of the TPTA allows the Commissioner to amend an assessment of surcharge, where the amount of the payment is taken to be greater than the amount that should be used for calculating the assessment.

As a result of the incorrect reporting of the start date of the eligible service period, all of the lump sum amount was taken to have accrued after 20 August 1996. This meant that the entire eligible termination payment was surchargable.

The amendment reduces the portion of the eligible termination payment subject to the surcharge.

Date of decision: 29 June 2001

Legislative References:
Termination Payments Tax (Assessment And Collection) Act 1997
section 12
section 9

Keywords
Termination payments surcharge
Termination payments subject to surcharge

Business Line: Superannuation

Date of publication: 26 October 2001

ISSN: 1445-2782

history

	Date:	Version:
	29 June 2001	Original statement
You are here	15 December 2006	Archived

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