AT THE beginning of 2014, there were high hopes that with a government set on deregulation, the SMSF sector would be immune from the change and scrutiny that all but exhausted it in 2013. In some ways, these hopes came to fruition, with the government proclaiming early on that it intended to maintain a light-touch, flexible regulatory regime with the SMSF sector.

It didn’t take long for the mudslinging to start though, with debates that marred the SMSF sector in 2013 resurfacing early on. The ever-present SMSF borrowing debate in particular was one that did not escape the headlines – or the Financial System Inquiry’s (FSI’s) agenda.

Still, 2014 also saw a lot of positive change in the SMSF sector, with the ATO’s new penalty regime officially kicking off in July, and the government putting the wheels in motion to reform the superannuation excess non-concessional contributions tax.

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