‘Unprecedented assault': Former treasury official says Labor's super, unrealised gains tax will wreak widespread havoc, cause thousands to ‘go into debt'

Sky News AU

27-05-2025

Former Treasury assistant secretary David Pearl has blasted Labor for pursuing its policy of slapping hefty taxes on unrealised gains in super accounts, warning the move will undermine the credibility of Australia's taxation system and cause thousands to prematurely sell off their assets.
The Albanese government's contentious move to impose a 30 per cent tax rate on super funds above $3 million is likely to pass the Senate, with the Greens and Labor expected to join forces and ram through the policy in July when parliament reconvenes.
However, the plan has faced fierce criticism from numerous industry magnates, who have fumed at the government's polarising decision to not index the threshold and to target unrealised capital gains, which are often fleeting and illusory.
It was also revealed on Monday that the Prime Minister and other long-serving politicians eligible for the defined parliamentary benefit pension have the ability to defer paying the super tax, and will only be slugged with the levy once they retire.
Former Treasury assistant secretary David Pearl said he was not shocked by the move and that the government's unwavering commitment to enact the policy meant Labor had 'completely misread the election result'.
'I'm surprised that Jim Chalmers and Anthony Albanese haven't stood up and said they have an electoral mandate to impose this unprecedented assault on Australian taxpayers," he told Sky News Australia.
Mr Pearl, echoing comments made by several financial experts, said the policy undermined numerous core principles of Australia's taxation system and that the concept of taxing unrealised capital gains was a needlessly risky move.
'We tax unrealized land values through land tax and rates, but as I've already explained, those taxes typically are one to two per cent and land values don't change in a volatile way," he said.
'This is a new departure for our income tax system, I think that's the big thing about this.
'It will undoubtedly cause a lot of harm. I think the principle is the objection."
The ex-treasury official also warned superannuants could be forced to prematurely sell off their assets, such as property and shares, to fund their increased tax liability and that this would, in turn, cause some individuals' debt burdens to soar.
'A taxpayer shouldn't have to go into debt or sell assets simply to meet a tax liability and that's what this unrealised capital gains tax will do to them," Mr Pearl said.
'Somebody with a self-managed fund who has invested in an illiquid asset like a business or a farm won't be able to sell five, 10, 20 per cent of that asset in order to meet their tax liability.
'So when they get the bill from the ATO, they'll either have to sell other assets or go into debt."
Mr Pearl added the policy discouraged Australians from amassing sufficient funds in their accounts and that the move was an outward attack on self-managed superannuation.
'It's really an assault on those with self-managed super funds, which account for one trillion of our four trillion dollar stock of super with investments in unlisted or illiquid assets," he said.