Chalmers goes on the attack over super tax ‘lies'
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has brushed away criticism of his proposal to tax paper profits for wealthy superannuant, claiming media reporting on the issue does not indicate Australians are genuinely concerned and accusing the Coalition of lying.
Since Labor's election win, scrutiny has grown on the government's plan to raise the earnings tax from July 1 on superannuation balances above $3 million from 15 per cent to 30 per cent. Labor announced the policy more than two years ago, but it has yet to go through the Senate.
Chalmers pushed back at suggestions the government could win support for the change from the Liberal and National parties, saying the Coalition – which has opposed the proposal – was not serious about negotiating.
'I think we should resist the temptation to think that because overwhelmingly, two media outlets don't like this change, to assume that the concern is kind of broadly and deeply felt in the Australian community,' Chalmers said in a press conference in Canberra on Wednesday, in his firmest defence of his policy to date.
Reporting on the policy, projected to about $2.7 billion per year initially, has been led by The Australian, owned by News Corp, and the Australian Financial Review, owned by this masthead's owner Nine Entertainment.
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The most controversial element of the policy is that unrealised capital gains on assets held in super, such as property or farms, will be valued and taxed each year. The unorthodox practice has raised questions about the principle of asking superannuant to settle a tax bill for assets from which they have not yet banked an actual gain.
Chalmers said tax concessions for super account holders remained generous, and claimed Coalition MPs were lying when they claimed politicians on defined benefits pension schemes, such as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, would not be captured by the tax.
He said under existing law, long-serving MPs such as Albanese could not pay for any extra tax liability out of their super until they reached pension age. But they would be charged interest on their deferred tax.
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