'An unfair system': Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell takes aim at Albanese government's ‘Robin Hood tax' on superannuation

Sky News AU

19-05-2025

Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell has hit out at the Albanese government's push to impose new tax measures on superannuation portfolios, calling it a 'Robin Hood tax'.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been urged to reconsider his highly-controversial superannuation tax policy amid criticism from the opposition and crossbench.
The policy has even faced scrutiny from within Labor Party ranks as Mr Chalmers has promised to forge ahead with legislation that was previously blocked by the Senate.
With the Albanese government's new mandate and complete control of both the lower and upper house alongside the Greens, the 'unfair' tax appears inevitable.
On Monday, Clennell said the government was relying on Australian's who 'don't have a lot of sympathy' for people with over $3 million in super, who will be slapped with an additional 15 per cent tax on their balances.
However, the measure will not be indexed which means more and more workers will fall within the threshold over time.
The policy also includes a tax on unrealised capital gains — meaning individuals would be taxed on paper profits which have not been sold or realised.
'Why not index it? Well, the simple reason is (the government) wouldn't get enough money, but that's the unfairness of it,' Clennell said.
'There's super tax that comes in on people on $250,000 a year. You pay an extra 15 per cent tax on your super and the crazy thing about that is, though, that's not indexed.
'And when you look at the growth of wages and you look at the grow of housing costs, when you don't index these things, way down the track, they can become an issue for everybody essentially.
'It just seems an unfair system … It's definitely a Robin Hood tax.'
Clennell said the proposed framework appeared to be a statement by the government that 'people shouldn't have too much superannuation'.
'We're going to get to a stage in 10 years where everyone's going to need three men in their superfund to sort of survive through retirement,' Clennell said.
'In a sense, it's all fine now, right? I mean, it is all understandable now, but then index it so it remains targeting the very rich. And they won't.'
Economists and fund managers have spoken out against Mr Chalmers' policy, which has been branded 'shameless economic theft'.
Wilson Asset Management's founder Geoff Wilson warned the tax changes would be a detriment to small business in Australia.
'People will move away from taking risks. They'll restructure their investments," Mr Wilson told Sky News.
Mr Wilson also said local entrepreneurialism and innovation will be under threat as many investors use self-managed super funds to invest in tech start-ups.
'Mr Albanese is correct in terms of the tax only affects a very small number of people in terms paying extra tax," he said.
"But it actually affects every Australian in terms (of the fact) the $4.2 trillion is now going to be not going to be productively invested... I actually think it's a disaster.'