Labor’s super proposal will get backing, says lobbyist
Labor’s proposal to increase superannuation taxes for high-income earners is gaining significant public support, according to one lobby group.
Speaking to SMSF Adviser, Taxpayers Australia's superannuation products and services manager Reece Agland said a survey undertaken with Taxpayers Australia’s members showed a majority of the group's members considered the tax benefits received by wealthier superannuants to be of concern.
“We asked members if they think there are excessive tax benefits to the wealthy and about 60 per cent said yes and about 40 per cent supported the Labor proposal to tax income over $75,000,” he said.
Mr Agland said he had been expecting a more negative response from the survey.
“We were surprised by the amount of members that were concerned about the issue of higher wealth and need to address it, because our members are largely tax practitioners, so it is interesting that there is a strong indication there that something needs to be done,” he said.
According to Mr Agland, the results were “in line with what the public would think” and indicate a “change in perception”.
“There will be those who say don’t touch it at all but I think the question is coming down to equity and whether people on high incomes [perhaps] should be contributing to government,” he said.
“I think that’s the real issue and I think people have turned it around and said, ‘well, these people are taking from the system, they’re still accessing government benefits and using the health care system and all that – they should be contributing back at least a little.”
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.
