Latest news with #Rennick
Epoch Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Epoch Times
Taxing Unrealised Gains Discourages Australians from Managing Their Money: Senator Rennick
People First Senator Gerard Rennick has said the Labor government's proposed superannuation tax will impose a heavier burden on self-managing super funds, effectively discouraging people from handling their own retirement money. This comes as Labor is pushing for the super tax bill to pass the Senate after it was approved by the House of Representatives in October 2024. If passed, the bill would lift the tax rate on earnings from super balances above $3 million (US$1.95 million) in the accumulation phase from 15 to 30 percent from July 1, 2025. During the 2022 federal election campaign, Labor leaders, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who was the then-opposition leader, stated that the party had 'no intention of making any super changes.' However, after Labor won the election, the party went back on its promise by introducing the proposed tax in 2023. A controversial aspect of the bill is that it now targets 'unrealised capital gains' in super portfolios. Related Stories 5/19/2025 5/12/2025 This means superannuation members and those managing their self-managed super funds (SMSFs) will be required to pay an annual tax on increases in the value of their portfolio assets—even if those assets have not been sold. Financial experts have raised concerns about this unusual approach, which has not been adopted by any developed country so far. In a recent discussion paper ( 'Superannuants may be incentivised to realise gains more frequently to avoid accumulating large unrealised gains subject to taxation, even if it is not optimal from a long-term investment perspective,' he wrote. 'This could lead to higher portfolio turnover, increased transaction costs, and potentially lower overall returns for superannuation account holders.' Other distorted investment decisions included increasing liquidity in super funds to pay unrealised gains, and shifting to less productive assets to avoid higher taxes. Wilson Asset estimated that Labor' super tax scheme would result in economic efficiency losses of $94.5 billion. An elderly couple walk in Sydney, Australia, on June 2, Super Funds Will Face Higher Costs Rennick, who has 25 years of experience in the finance sector, pointed out another potential consequence of Labor's super tax—a significant increase in compliance costs for those who run SMSFs. As the new tax will apply to unrealised capital gains, super funds and SMSF trustees may need to regularly value their non-liquid assets, such as properties and shares. However, Rennick noted that SMSF trustees would face higher costs than larger super funds when valuing the same amount of assets. 'If you're an industry fund and there's a million people [in it], then that cost of doing it over a million people is shared,' he told The Epoch Times. '[You can have] a billion dollars inside an industry fund that needs one valuation. Or you can have 1,000 people with a million-dollar property each.' 'So the cost of compliance [for 1,000 people] is higher because you don't get the economies of scale. The cost of running a self-managed super fund is going to increase significantly.' Furthermore, the senator stated that there were risks associated with the valuation process of unlisted assets, as it could be very subjective. '[You will need to appoint] an auditor, an accountant, or a valuer. It is going to be very painful,' he said. Liberal Senator Gerard Rennick during Senate Estimates at Parliament House in Canberra, April 6, 2022. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas A More Effective Way to Raise Taxes Rennick questioned Labor's idea of taxing unrealised capital gains instead of opting for a more effective tax measure. 'If they want to raise more money, [they can] raise more money by taxing incomes in the retirement phase above a certain level,' he said. '[Currently], there's no tax on your income in superannuation once you've retired, regardless of what your income is. Why wouldn't you bring a tax in on that?' The senator gave an example: a person earning $100,000 annually from their superannuation in retirement could have the first $50,000 tax-free, with the remaining $50,000 subject to tax. According to data from the Australian Taxation Office, there are 646,168 SMSFs with 1,197,293 members as of March 2025. The total estimated value of assets held by these funds is around $1.01 trillion. Australia Has An Expenditure Problem, Not Revenue One: Director Amid the Labor's government attempt to collect more tax from working people, Wilson pointed out that Australia does not have a revenue problem. 'The federal governments already collects $700 billion in taxation revenue and is the fourth highest in the developed world for income tax to GDP,' he said. 'We do not have a revenue problem in Australia, we have a well-documented expenditure problem. 'Expenditure reform should be the focus to restore budget confidence, not the taxing of unrealised gains on superannuation.'
Irish Times
14-05-2025
- General
- Irish Times
The Unforgiving Beira
Robbie's routine was as tiring as it gets on the Beira oil platform. Grab whatever breakfast leftovers in the cafeteria, enter out to the deck, and work wherever he was needed, fixing the electrics. Some days would be more forgiving, only needing to fix one or two fuses, other days were cruel and would drag him along the rig from dawn until dusk. Today happened to be one of those cruel days, with extra pouring rain! He wished he could cry. Speaking of … Robbie could hear just that, but it wasn't from himself. It was coming from the accommodations area. Robbie goes to investigate. It's coming from under the pool table … 'Hello?' '...' READ MORE 'If you stay there, Rennick will eventually find you! So – better to come out now!' A scrawny woman crawls out and stands up. She's pale, her cheeks sunken in. 'You're … not from our crew are you? What are you doing here? Are you a stowa-' 'I-I'm sorry! Yes – I-I snuck on to the rig and don't work here but I swear it's for a good reason! I swear – just – please don't report me.' 'Nonono – I can't help ya. My job means more to me than a criminal. I don't put my job on the line like a piece of fish bait.' The girl kneels in front of him, pleading with tears. 'Please … I can't go back to the mainland right now – I have nothing left there … please …' 'Geez … I ... urgh – fine. Fine, I'll help your sorry soul – but I'm won't give you the world or anything.' And so it was. For the next few weeks, Robbie would start getting up earlier so he and the stowa- … girl could split food evenly between them. He asked one day: 'So … what's yer name?' 'Carrie …' 'Right … Robbie.' And another day he asked: 'For someone so bony, ya sure do scoff down those eggs and bacon, eh?' 'Mhm ...' 'Not much of a talker, are ya?' '...' And one day, he said: 'You know, you remind me a bit of my daughter. 'Oh? What's her name?' 'Olivia … she's a little angel.' 'Ah … that's sweet.' But a week before Robbie's work finished … 'I got brekky! Eggs and ba-' The tray drops from his hands, the plates shattering into bits. 'Carrie?' But she was nowhere in his room. He sprints out, looking everywhere. Accommodations, the kitchen, but nothing. 'Robbie!' A voice called from outside. Two of his coworkers stood outside, holding Carrie by her arms. 'Care to explain who your friend is?' 'Let 'er go! She's done no harm!' 'Really? Caus' I heard from the police that this lil' lass is supposed to be on death row for murderin' her ma! Is that no harm, Robbie?' 'You what?' 'Rob, I can expla-' 'Look – you're a good pal to me Robbie, so I'll give you a choice. Either you get rid of her, or you deal with her and the police when we get back on land.' 'I …' 'My job means more to me than a criminal.'
The Guardian
26-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Mind-blowingly stupid': Asio chief criticises News Corp's alleged attempt to provoke Middle Eastern cafe staff
Australia's domestic spy chief has criticised an alleged attempt by News Corp staff to provoke workers at a Middle Eastern restaurant into making prejudicial comments as 'mind-blowingly stupid' and 'unhelpful' during a Senate estimates hearing. Police were called to the popular Cairo Takeaway in the Sydney suburb of Newtown earlier this month after a confrontation involving the venue's staff, a team from News Corp Australia and a man wearing a Star of David cap. Hesham El Masry, the owner of the restaurant, alleged there was an attempt to provoke an antisemitic response from his staff in the presence of Daily Telegraph reporters. The restaurant and its owner have been vocal supporters of Palestine on social media. Asio's director-general, Mike Burgess, was provided with an overview of the case by Queensland senator Gerrard Rennick during Tuesday night's hearing. Rennick accused the Daily Telegraph team of 'stirring trouble' and trying to 'bait' staff into making a prejudiced statement. 'In that case, if those facts are correct, then that is just mind-blowingly stupid, is it not, and inappropriate that you would do something to generate a headline,' Burgess told the hearing. '[It's] entirely unhelpful and think about the poor person on the receiving end of that.' Greens senator David Shoebridge then questioned why Burgess was not more critical of the alleged sting operation and suggested it deserved more attention from the domestic spy agency, which has repeatedly warned of social division. 'The concerns that many people have is this was not a moment of stupidity, this was a planned, resourced and approved sting operations to try and sow division on the streets of Sydney,' Shoebridge told the hearing. 'It didn't appear to be stupid, it appeared to be venal, planned, nasty and divisive … That is more troubling than something mind-blowingly stupid'. In response, Burgess stood by his characterisation of the incident, as described by Rennick, but said he would not provide further comment without more details. Burgess also said the incident was not a priority for the agency. 'It came to the attention of Asio but do I have multiple media agencies doing such things? No. In terms of decisions about where I put the weight of my organisation, this is not one of them.' The Daily Telegraph has been contacted for a response to comments by Burgess and Shoebridge. Ben English, the editor of the Daily Telegraph, has previously said the newspaper 'never intended to provoke an incident at the Cairo Takeaway restaurant' but acknowledged 'our approach could have been better handled'. English said the paper had visited multiple venues across Sydney in an attempt to report on 'the rise of antisemitism and … how it is affecting the daily lives of Jewish people in Sydney'. CCTV images from inside the cafe seen by Guardian Australia showed a man wearing a Star of David cap and necklace entering the busy premises. El Masry said that the man was served tea with 'no issues'. The footage then shows the man moving to one side of the cafe, where he 'lingered' for about two minutes, raising the concern of staff, he said. The waitress walked outside, where a reporter, photographer and cameraman appeared to be waiting, he said. A verbal altercation then took place between the waitress, the man in the cap and the journalists. 'That is out-and-out intimidation. Who comes into a restaurant and asks me a question about this gentleman who I don't even know?' the woman is heard asking the journalists in footage posted to social media.
