Superannuation rortors face eye-watering $25,000 fines if they misled the tax office and lied about coronavirus financial stress
- The ATO has said those who lied on early superannuation claims could be fined
- Fines of $12,600 may apply for each false claim in 2020 and 2021 financial years
- About four million applications were made by Australians to access super early
- Federal government allowed super payments in April amid COVID-19 lockdowns
Those people who lied about their financial stress during the pandemic to access their superannuation early could be hit with $25,000 fines by the tax office.
Early access to superannuation was allowed by the federal government in April to help Australians who found themselves unemployed or earning less money.
The scheme allowed fund members to apply to withdraw of up to $10,000 per year in the 2020 and 2021 financial years.
Early access to superannuation was allowed by the federal government to help Australians who found themselves unemployed or earning less money (pictured: People queue for access to a Centrelink Service Centre in Sydney, Monday, March 23, 2020)
The Australian Taxation Office has revealed that fund members who lied on an application could receive a maximum penalty of $12,600 – which could be applied twice if they lodged a false application for both years.
A task force was specifically established by the ATO to find coronavirus fraudsters making false claims for assistance such as early super and JobKeeper payments.
‘Only in serious cases where an applicant has deliberately applied knowing that they were not eligible will we apply penalties,’ an ATO spokesman told News Corp.
‘In these circumstances, amounts paid under COVID-19 early release of superannuation will become assessable income and need to be included in the individual’s tax return and tax paid on the released amount.’
The tax office said penalties are variable and range from $4,000 to the $12,600 amount for each false statement.
‘Access to this scheme was deliberately made simple to speed up the process, and it’s possible some people withdrew their super when they weren’t actually eligible,’ RateCity research director Sally Tindall said.
‘The ATO is reviewing applications they suspect don’t meet the criteria, so now is the time to own up if you think you made a mistake.’
She also added that a 30-year-old accessing $20,000 of superannuation in 2020 and 2021 would lose on average $43,032 in retirement income.
According to official figures about four million requests, amounting to more than $30billion, have been made by Australians to access their superannuation early.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the ATO for comment.
A task force was specifically established by the ATO to find coronavirus fraudsters making false claims for assistance such as early super and JobKeeper payments (stock image)