Treasury will backdate the capital gains taxation relief for merging superannuation funds to 1 October 2011, Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation Bill Shorten said.
Treasury released draft legislation on the relief for public comment last Friday.
Apart from the backdating of the relief, the changes that have been made to the income tax relief include extending the relief to all revenue assets regardless of the net position of the entity and removing the 12 month integrity rule which prevents certain losses from being transferred.
"These changes which have been developed after listening to the views of stakeholders will give merging funds greater flexibility and reduce their administrative and compliance costs," Shorten said.
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) welcomed the draft legislation and said it would examine the detail of the legislation and respond with a submission. "Some fund members would have taken a direct hit on their accounts if fund mergers which occurred from 1 October 2011 were not provided the capital gains tax relief for funds carrying capital losses," ASFA chief executive Pauline Vamos said.
