borrowing through e super, page-4

Could anyone here more enlightened on the subject of SMSF taxation offer me some advice please ?

Here is what started today's ATO dilemma.

A $670 late lodgement fee.

After speaking with a lovely lady named Ma from the ATO she was able to help by waiving the late payment fee and any interest on it given the circumstances I was able to articulate,,,, but here comes the bit I can't grasp.

She went on to state that her decision in no way effected any outcome or fines I would received for our SMSF 2009 lodgement that she was adamant had never been submitted to the ATO.

I tried to explain to her that there must be some error in the ATO's system, as we have had this discussion at least a dozen times over the years with them.

She would have no bar of it, and remained adamant that any 2009 SMSF return we lodge would accrue late return fines.

She directed me to ring my taxation / SMSF accountant.

For the umpteenth time, my accounts office told me that they had passed on the errant info to the ATO and that they had in fact lodged it in Feb 2010,,

It had been audited, and an assessment notice had been issued to our SMSF within a few weeks of its lodgement.

Our SMSF had been assessed as owing the Australian Taxation Office a sum of around $150,000.00 ( CGT ) which we had paid them.

When I returned to the ATO 13 10 20 QUEUE and got to go through the whole reference I.D. rigmarole again, I stated that I was becoming quite concerned that their perceived errant systems were continuing to threaten me with fines for late lodgement of this now ''phantom'' 2009 lodgement, assessment, and the subsequent CGT super tax payment.

The gentleman said he would look into it,,, I said,,, how about I supply you the lodgement report validation code, and date of assessment details.

He was not interested initially in this info and I had to request he take down the details for ease of reference after some contrite requests.

Once he had taken them down, I asked him what his records reflected.

He stated that it reflected a completed return and ATO assessment, but that it had been ''CANCELLED''.

I asked whether he could refer to the document and the amount owing and or paid per this phantom ''Cancelled'' assessment.

He stated the six figure amount that had been assessed, and that his records showed that it had been paid. ( I don't know anyone that would forget handing over 150K to the ATO, and it had certainly not slipped my mind )

I then asked him, who had spent this cancelled money and if it had been cancelled 3 years ago, why was the 6 figure amount not returned to sender.

I reckoned that if I had been given a refund and some ATO adjudicator had ''cancelled'' my assessment,,, I would have found out about it in a heart beat with a letter demanding a return of monies to internal revenue .


So,,,,, for any SMSF specialists out there,,,, my question is,

Who spent my cancelled money from my cancelled assessment, and why is it that all I ever heard from the ATO was that ''we'' never submitted a 2009 SMSF return ?

I did ask him to return my cancelled money asap but all he could offer at this point in time was a verbal apology for the grief this has caused us,, ongoing,, and that he would do what he could wrt removing the non lodgement red blotch and on going threat of late lodgement fines from any further correspondence,, and their records. ( pfft )

I reckoned that was not good enough. I explained to him that John Howard recommended we all go SMSF way back when,,, and that this was mighty un- Australian.

He was contrite enough to state that he would escalate my concerns to the highest internal level, yet did not offer me a complaint reference number or any ideas wrt who had spent my super tax from a Kosher ATO assessment that was cancelled 3 years ago, yet initially shows on their records as never being received,,,, until I supplied them with the lodgement & report security validation codes ???

Has Big Tony kept on the Sheriff of Nottingham that was obviously there lurking in the ATO during the Rudd regime ?

Has someone inside the ATO worked out how to ''short'' assessments ?

TIA R.D.