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Finance industry levy drops despite increased ASIC costs

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By Tim Stewart
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3 minute read

Treasury has proposed to levy the finance industry $259 million in 2013/2014 to fund the relevant regulators and government departments – a $7.4 million (2.8 per cent) decrease on the 2012/2013 levy requirement.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) requires $115.6 million through industry levies in 2013/2014 – up 2.4 per cent from 2012/2013.

Breaking down the APRA component of the levies, $49.1 million is required from authorised deposit taking institutions (ADIs); $34.1 million is required from the superannuation sector; $21.1 million is required from the general insurance sector; and $11.3 million is required from life insurance/friendly societies.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) requirement for 2013/2014 is $32.2 million – up 55.6 per cent on 2012/2013.

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The $32.2 million ASIC levy will be funded predominantly by the superannuation sector ($12.9 million) and ADIs ($12.2 million).

The increased ASIC component is the result of new policy measures announced in the 2013/2014 federal Budget, according to Treasury.

These 2013/2014 measures include the government’s over-the-counter derivatives reform, which will cost $3 million; $1.3 million in funding for payments to states and territories as part of the MoneySmart Teaching Strategy; and $1 million in additional funding to the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal.

The implementation of SuperStream accounts for $99.5 million of the 2013/2014 levies – down 18.1 per cent from the $121.4 million required in 2012/2013.

The levies to recover the full cost of SuperStream will be in place until 2017/2018, by which time they will have reduced to $35.5 million, according to Treasury estimates.

The remainder of the $259 million in levies required by Treasury will go to the Australian Taxation Office ($7.3 million to help defray the cost of administering the Superannuation Lost Member Register) and the Department of Human Services ($4.4 million to cover the cost of the administration of early release of superannuation benefits on compassionate grounds).

The ADI industry will be levied a total of $61.3 million, while the superannuation industry will be levied a total of $58.7 million (excluding the SuperStream levy).

Interested parties are invited to comment on the proposed financial industry levies for 2013/2014, with submissions to Treasury set to close on Friday 14 June.