Natasha Panagis, head of superannuation and financial services for the Institute of Financial Professionals Australia, told SMSF Adviser the association decided to join the Australians for Prosperity No Family Savings Tax campaign because it had “tried every conventional pathway” to stop the bill.
“Australians For Prosperity is a grassroots organisation that helps everyday Australians to advocate for economic freedom and growth,” Panagis said.
“Its message goes to everyday Australia rather than to politicians and in just two months it has organically grown its subscription for this campaign from zero to 10,000 supporters. The No Family Savings Tax message emphasises how this legislation will impact all Australians.”
Panagis said the IFPA and the majority of industry associations don’t support the Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions Bill because of the lack of indexation and the taxing of unrealised capital gains.
“After having gone down the conventional routes of lobbying government, writing submissions and asking members to contact their local MPs, we saw that this group was fighting the same good fight,” she said.
“With the government parliamentary calendar wrapping up and trying to get a backlog of bills through, there will be some key deals brewing so this bill may get pushed through. We don’t want to see it get bundled and rushed through, and the A4P is against this tax for the same reason we are. We are asking our 15,500 members to get behind the movement to create some extra noise.”
A4P executive director Julian Simmonds said the government completely underestimated the devastating impact this tax would have on hardworking families across Australia.
“We’re hearing from people of all backgrounds, small business owners, farmers, and retirees who are deeply worried they’ll be forced to immediately liquidate assets just to pay this tax,” Simmonds said.
“These are hardworking Australians who’ve tightened their belts, built a nest egg, and hoped to retire with confidence only to have their futures crushed by this reckless policy.”
Simmonds described the legislation as one of the most harmful tax proposals ever introduced in the Australian Parliament.
“The more you examine this tax, the clearer it becomes just how fundamentally flawed it is,” Simmonds said.
“Taxing unrealised gains, forcing asset sales, double taxation, no clawback provisions, no indexation — it’s a disaster on every level. Worst of all, as leading auditors have pointed out, it likely won’t even raise the revenue the government is relying on, yet it will still destroy families’ financial security.”
Simmonds said Australians were initially sceptical when the campaign launched, struggling to believe the government could propose such a policy.
“At first, people couldn’t believe it was real — it’s so complex, so unfair,” he said.
“But once they understood the details, their shock quickly turned to anger. It’s clear the government hoped to quietly sneak this through, but we’re making sure Australians know it won’t go unnoticed.”
Simmonds also warned that taxing unrealised gains could set a dangerous precedent.
“Families are beginning to realise that this tax on unrealised gains will become a precedent, replicated from superannuation onto other asset classes,” he said.
A4P has urged Australians to join the No Family Savings Tax campaign, take action, and contact their local crossbench Senators before the legislation progresses.
“This isn’t just about opposing a bad tax — it’s about protecting the future of a prosperous Australia,” Simmonds said.
“We need to reach as many people as possible. Share this campaign with anyone who wants the next generation to be better than their own, because this tax is a direct assault on that aspiration.”
