Greens call for super policy changes
The Australian Greens party has criticised the superannuation system as a “tax haven for the rich” and has called for the removal of the current flat tax rate for super of 15 per cent.
The Greens said with the baby boomers beginning to transition to retirement, the public money foregone to superannuation concessions will surge from $32 billion to $50 billion a year by 2018.
“Compulsory super will no longer be achieving one of its main objectives, and may in fact cost more than providing the public pension for everyone,” said the political party.
The Greens argued that the current flat tax rate should be replaced with a “progressive system based closely on the individual employee’s marginal tax rate”.
Greens leader Christine Milne said the super system is “being rorted by the mega rich, who can drastically reduce their tax by funnelling money into super that would normally be taxed at the highest marginal rate”.
"The super wealthy in Australia are avoiding hundreds of thousands in tax using these superannuation loopholes – its people on lower incomes that shoulder the burden,” said Ms Milne.
"Everyone deserves a comfortable retirement; the superannuation system should look after people on low and middle incomes too, not just the wealthy."
Ms Milne said policy changes to super taxation well help all Australians achieve their own comfortable retirement and ensure the aged pension is preserved for those who need it most.
Miranda Brownlee
Miranda Brownlee is the deputy editor of SMSF Adviser, which is the leading source of news, strategy and educational content for professionals working in the SMSF sector.
Since joining the team in 2014, Miranda has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest superannuation stories in Australia, and has reported extensively on technical strategy and legislative updates.
Miranda also has broad business and financial services reporting experience, having written for titles including Investor Daily, ifa and Accountants Daily.
