Sarah Hanson-Young dodges questions on super tax change as fund manager warns unrealised capital gain tax could threaten system

Sky News AU

24-04-2025

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has dodged questions over the party's plan to force Labor to tax unrealised capital gains of super funds valued at more than $2 million despite dire warnings from industry leaders.
The Greens have been agitating for the government to reduce the threshold at which the tax would kick-in, from $3 million down to $2 million.
But leading fund manager Geoff Wilson has warned the lowered threshold could lead to up to $25 billion being pulled from self-managed super funds as thousands try to avoid the tax.
Asked by Sky News host Peter Stefanovic about whether the Greens will be supporting the tax on balances above $2 million, Senator Hanson-Young only indicated the minor party would be pushing "a fairer share of these things" in negotiations with Labor.
"Well, this is legislation that has been before the parliament over the last couple of years and of course the Greens have been in the balance of power in the Senate and we've negotiated with the government on a lot of things," she said on Thursday.
"We've been back and forth with them over this piece of legislation. In the new parliament, of course, we will be pushing for making sure that there is a fairer share of these things.
"In a minority government we will negotiate with Labor to make things better, to make them deliver on their promises and to keep them honest."
Further pressed on taxing unrealised gains, Senator Hanson-Young said "you need to look at this through the lens of what's fair across the board".
"People who have ... millions and millions of dollars in superannuation being able to have special tax settings versus ... the rest of the population who are struggling and worried about what their super balance is going to look like at retirement, is there even going to be enough in there," she continued.
"I mean, that's my focus, making sure that everyday working, hard working Australians can actually retire with enough money in the bank.
"That's my focus - and that's the bulk of workers actually. You know, the list of people well beyond you know, two or three million dollars is small but you know they are retiring on a lot, lot more."
The government has proposed legislation that will double the tax rate on super earnings above $3m to 30 per cent and will not index this threshold over time as inflation changes.
Labor's legislation would also force people above this threshold to pay taxes for gains on assets in their super funds - such as farms and properties.
They would pay taxes on these gains now, despite the return from these assets not being realised.
The Australian reported Mr Wilson had been contacted by clients about taking money from their self-managed super funds in the light of possible negotiations between Labor and the Greens in the event of a hung parliament.
"Shareholders are calling me, very concerned about the taxing of unrealised gains. Taxing profits you may never make by Labor is definitely the sleeper in this election," he said.
Mr Wilson, who played a key role in the Coalition's 2019 Federal Election campaign attack on Labor's franking credits changes, said the opposition had not gone hard enough on warning of the dangers of the government's tax.
"I think there has been a misunderstanding by the Coalition of how brutal this unrealised capital gains tax policy will be on the economy," he said.
Of self-managed super funds, nine per cent reportedly have a balance of more than $2 million, and 44 per cent are in retirement phase.
Based on that data, 24,500 funds could be looking to pull out up to $1 million over concerns about the tax, Mr Wilson estimates.
Clients have reportedly been seeking advice about potentially moving their investments into the property market, leading to concerns that could further push up house prices.