Latest news with #unrealisedgains
SBS Australia
2 days ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
Midday News Bulletin 6 May 2025
Warning over impact of superannuation tax Trump places restrictions for travel on 17 nations Christiano Ronaldo scores to secure Portugal's place in UEFA Final Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts . Shadow treasurer Ted O'Brien says Labor's plan to double taxes on superannuation balances over $3 million will be 'an absolute disaster'. Mr O'Brien told ABC any tax on unrealised gains was an 'egregious idea'. "We believe in lower taxes. We believe in simpler taxes. We believe in fairer taxes … People are going to be paying a tax on theoretical profits, money that hasn't even hit their bank account. This crosses a red line in Australian tax law. It will be an absolute disaster. … Where does that then go? Will Labor start taxing unrealised capital gains on your primary residence? We don't want a bar of that." The policy aims to curb the number of high net-worth individuals using their super for tax deduction purposes, rather than for their retirement. Treasurer Jim Chalmers remains firm on the proposed changes but says the government doesn't have the numbers in the Senate to pass the legislation. The median super balance for 60- to 64-year-olds is roughly $200,000 for men and $150,000 for women. Tasmanians could be facing a snap election, with state premier Jeremy Rockliff expected to be dumped by parliament. The Liberal state minority government is in political turmoil after Mr Rockliff faced a no-confidence motion on Wednesday, with a marathon debate expected to continue when sittings resume this morning. The motion, put forward by the Labor opposition, appears all but certain to pass with support of the Greens and three cross bench MPs. Mr Rockliff has conceded the numbers are against him but has vowed to "fight to his last breath" and not resign. Newly elected independent MP, Nicolette Boele, says she is 'very confident' with the outcome of Bradfield's recount. Ms Boele was declared winner of the Sydney seat of Bradfield on a wafer-thin margin of 26 votes from more than 118,000 - more than a month after polls closed. She told ABC, the question of whether the recount should be disputed was up to her opponent, Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian. 'I think I'm very confident with the process that's been run by the AEC and the outcome that we have here. So, I'm keen to get on with the job, but I can understand you might need to ask that question to Giselle Kapterian." Ms Kapterian is yet to concede and has said she will 'carefully review' the original count and the recount. President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation, preventing people from a dozen countries from entering the United States. The countries include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. In addition to the ban, which takes effect next Monday local time there will be heightened restrictions on visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Mr Trump says he's acting "to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people". He says the move is a response to an attack on a Jewish protest in Colorado. US authorites say the suspect was an illegal resident. UN Security Council members have criticised the United States after it vetoed a resolution calling for a ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access in Gaza. Washington's United Nations envoy Dorothy Shea says the resolution would undermine diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire and would embolden Hamas. "Fourteen votes in favour, one against. The draft resolution has not been adopted, owing to the negative vote of a permanent member." The vote has sparked anger among members of the council. Pakistan's ambassador to the UN, Asim Ahmad, says the veto will remain "a moral stain on the conscience" of the council "that will reverberate for generations". France's ambassador to the UN, Jerome Bonnafont, said the council was "prevented from shouldering its responsibility, despite the fact that most of us seem to be converging on one view". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged allies not to show weakness to Vladimir Putin, after the Russian leader threatened retaliation against recent strikes in a call with US counterpart Donald Trump. In an online post, Mr Zelenskyy said when Putin "feels neither strength nor pressure but weakness, he commits yet more crimes". The Ukrainian leader has proposed implementing a ceasefire with Russia, until a meeting can be arranged with Mr Putin. He told a briefing in Kyiv that Europe, Ukraine, and the whole world have a chance to end the war. 'My proposal, which I believe our partners can support, is that we agree a ceasefire with the Russians until the leaders meet. We offer a meeting any day starting from Monday, if there is no mutual understanding, if there is no desire for de-escalation, if there is no desire and vision how to put an end to it, then ceasefire will be over the same day." Mr Zelenskyy added Ukraine would "be grateful" for support for a ceasefire from Mr Trump. In football, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored the winner for Portugal, as the side fought back from behind to beat Germany 2-1 and reach the UEFA Nations League final. Germany took the lead in the 48th minute, with a well-timed header from Florian Wirtz following a lobbed pass from Joshua Kimmich. However, Portugal turned the match around, first equalising through an individual goal from substitute Francisco Conceicao in the 63rd minute, before Ronaldo tapped in five minutes later to send the visitors into the final. Portugal coach Roberto Martinez says he's proud of his team's reaction to going a goal down. 'It's 25 years since the last time we beat Germany in Germany, so, it was that psychological barrier, if you want, and then when we concede the goal, the reaction was incredible. So, we could speak about the tactical aspects and what we did, but I think I would like to remark the psychological strength that we showed today.' Spain and France will clash in the other semi-final tomorrow to decide who will face Portugal in the decider on Sunday.
Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Labor MP representing one of Australia's richest postcodes makes a surprising call on super tax
A federal MP representing one of Australia's richest electorates has admitted the government's plan to tax unrealised gains on super is 'complicated'. Jerome Laxale made history this month as the first ever Labor representative to be re-elected in Bennelong, covering Sydney 's lower north shore. He now has a safe seat, even with new boundaries east of the Lane Cove River, where Labor had never previously had a federal MP. His redrawn electorate now also includes Hunters Hill and Woolwich - double waterfront suburbs in the 2110 postcode, where the average taxable income of $215,456 is almost triple the national average of $72,327. These harbourside suburbs make up Australia's ninth richest postcode, making it much more likely to have residents with large superannuation balances in the millions. Laxale admitted Labor's plan for a new 15 per cent tax on the notional value of superannuation assets above a $3million threshold was complex. 'Yes, it is complicated but it is the simplest of the other alternatives,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'The Treasury was tasked with finding a way to do it in a way that was simple and cost effective and this was the advice that they gave the Treasurer.' Under the Labor's tax division 296 plan, those with a self-managed super fund would be forced to sell assets like real estate or land to keep their retirement savings under $3million and avoid having to pay the hated tax on unrealised gains. Labor is also planning to double earnings taxes to 30 per cent for retirement savings above this threshold. Like Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Laxale has defended the government's plan to avoid indexing it for inflation, despite AMP modelling showing it will affect an average, 22-year-old worker now in four decades' time. 'I point to the tax tables which also aren't indexed and they move as well,' he said. 'A future government will move this if it's unindexed and that's a pretty regular occurrence in tax law in Australia.' Despite the Opposition opposing Labor's plan, Laxale claimed very few people had raised the issue as he campaigned for re-election, in a seat with new boundaries that were notionally Liberal heading into the May 3 election. 'It didn't come up much when it passed through the House of Representatives a couple of years ago - it's only come up a handful of times during the election,' he said. 'I think people see this as a modest change and one that will impact only half a per cent of Australians and people with over $3million in super. 'The facts are that the overwhelming majority of people in Bennelong have super balances under $3million and will not be affected, which is why it wasn't really raised that much with me.' In the 2110 postcode, covering Hunters Hill, the average super balance is $600,829, or more than triple Australia's average super balance of $164,126, tax office data shows. But this still well below the $1.027m average at Palm Beach, on Sydney's northern beaches, where the average taxable income is $216,262 in a Teal electorate. Labor estimates its plan will only affect 0.5 per cent of Australian or 80,000 people with no plans to index it for inflation. Australians had $4.2billion in superannuation at the end of last year but a quarter of that, or $1.1billion was in a self-managed super fund rather in than the usual industry or retail fund. Labor's is going ahead with its plan to tax those with high superannuation balances, even though it now represents more ultra-wealthy voters than the Liberal Party. Hunters Hill wasn't the only top 10 postcode for wealth in a Labor electorate with the ALP also representing Hawksburn in the former Green leader Adam Bandt's old seat of Melbourne, where the average super balance is $956,724 and $266,020 is the average, taxable income. The 3142 postcode is Australia's fourth richest, and also covers neighbouring Toorak, now in Teal MP Monique Ryan's redrawn Kooyong electorate. Teal MPs represent eight of Australia's 10 richest postcodes, and they have expressed concerns about taxing unrealised gains. Allegra Spender's Wentworth electorate in Sydney's east is home to five of Australia's richest postcodes, with the Liberal Party representing just one ultra-wealthy suburb, Portsea, in the seat of Flinders on the Mornington Peninsula south-east of Melbourne. Labor won 59.27 per cent of the two-party vote in Bennelong and overwhelmingly carried a landslide majority of the 63 booths in the electorate, including in the upmarket waterfront suburbs of Gladesville and Greenwich. 'It is historic being only the first Labor MP to hold on to Bennelong and to win those new areas,' Laxale said. 'It's something I won't take for granted - some people came up to me on election day saying this is the first time in their life they voted Labor and that's a huge responsibility for me. 'An overwhelming majority of Australians want people to govern from the centre and that was reflected in the vote. 'Our government offered policies and plans that resonated well with people in Bennelong regardless of their income.' The exceptions were one booth in Hunters Hill, where Liberal Party candidate Scott Yung had 56.78 per cent of the vote after preferences. The Liberal Party also carried three hospital booths, getting 61.49 per cent of the vote in one of them, suggesting highly-paid surgeons were less likely to vote Labor and may have had misgivings about the plan to increase taxes on large superannuation balances. Laxale claimed older voters, who are more likely to have big super balances, voted Labor because of its $16billion plan to cut student debt by 20 per cent or an average of $5,520 from their Higher Education Contribution Scheme liabilities. 'You've got a lot of older people who came to me on election day and said, 'What tipped me over the line was the 20 per cent reduction in HECS because I want my kids not to be burdened with this debt and to be able to get a start in life either for a place to rent or a place to live',' he said. Bennelong's longest-serving member, former Liberal prime minister John Howard, introduced new laws in 2006 enabling those over 60 to withdraw their super tax free during the retirement phase.
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Barefoot Investor Scott Pape on Labor's controversial new tax on superannuation
The Barefoot Investor has likened Treasurer Jim Chalmers to a thief targeting a bank as he takes aim at Labor's proposed unrealised gains tax on super. Pape received a letter from a reader asking about a new 15 per cent capital gains tax on superannuation balances above $3million. 'I think everyone would love your view as you speak from your heart and not your ego,' the letter to Mr Pape read. In a radical move, retirement savings will be taxed on the notional value of assets before they are sold. This would force self-managed super funds to sell assets like property or farms to avoid incurring a capital gains tax, which is now only charged on investments after they have been sold. Pape labelled Chalmers a 'smart politician' saying 'his new tax should be hung up in the Lodge toilet so that future prime ministers can pay homage to it while they're on the throne'. 'Both parties went to this election with a record amount of unfunded spending promises. Now Jim Chalmers needs to find gushes of money,' he wrote. 'So he's chosen to tax super, for the same reason bank robbers hold up banks - because that's where the money is.' Pape said there was trillions of dollars just sitting in super, waiting to be taxed, with the government's superannuation tax plan not indexed for inflation. Labor is planning to impose a new 15 per cent tax on unrealised gains above $3million and also double earnings taxes to 30 per cent over this threshold. 'Yet his real genius is that he's gone back in history and borrowed from the biggest bazooka of them all - bracket creep,' Pape said. The Barefoot Investor explained half of his readers would probably have no idea what bracket creep was. 'Bracket creep works like this: inflation pushes your income into a higher tax bracket, even if you're not actually earning more in real terms,' he said. 'No new laws. No headlines. Just billions quietly hoovered up by the tax office. 'And, by not indexing the $3million cap, Jim's effectively extended bracket creep into retirement. 'The upshot is that younger Aussies like me, who've been diligently adding to our super, may eventually get slugged.' The Barefoot Investor said he was not particularly angry at the prospect, claiming he was a 'realist'. 'And what about his plan to tax unrealised capital gains?' he said. 'Unrealised capital gains tax means paying tax on something before you've sold it. 'It's like the taxman sending you a bill just because your house went up in value, even though you haven't sold it and haven't made a dollar.' Pape labelled it an 'unflushable turd'. 'There is absolutely no way he'll get away with it. After all, I've got family members who own their farms in SMSFs (self-managed super funds),' he said. 'If the value of their farm goes up one year, do they sell off a paddock to pay tax? And in a drought when the value of the farm falls, does the ATO send them a refund?' Labor's Treasury Laws Amendment (Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions and Other Measures) Bill in 2023 last year stalled in the Senate, with independent senator David Pocock concerned about taxing unrealised gains. But the government's landslide re-election means Labor will also have more senators from July 1, which means they would only need the Greens to get legislation passed. The Greens want a $2million threshold, instead of $3million, but with indexation for inflation.
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
PVO: Imagine you had to get your property valued each year... and then pay tax on how much the value went up. These Aussies are about to get hit with that scenario EVERY year
Imagine how you would feel as a property investor if, having scrimped and saved to buy a unit as an investment, the government then required you to have it formally valued every year, at your own expense of course. Then, in the year where it is assessed to have increased in value, you're taxed 30 per cent on that increase and are forced to pay the tax debt straight away, even if you aren't selling the asset. In other words, the only way you can pay that tax is with spare money you have lying around, or by selling the said property to finance the tax bill when you don't want to. You'd find it all pretty outrageous. Well that is how the government's plans work to tax unrealised superannuation gains. You pay the tax on the principal asset - such as a house, bought in a super fund - and if you can't pay for it, you must sell the asset to cover the tax. No wonder tax professionals think it is a poorly drafted tax. No wonder the nation's two biggest accounting bodies - Chartered Accountants ANZ and Certified Practising Accountants - have described the new rules as 'poorly designed'. Paying tax on something you are yet to realise a profit from is bad policy, plain and simple. It doesn't pass the fairness test at all. Labor wants to find ways of taxing higher income and equity earners and owners more. Jim Chalmers is seeking to plug holes in his budget, because he is spending beyond the nation's means. But if anyone thinks the new super tax is limited to a wealthy few they need to think again. Because it's not indexed at $3million, over time more and more Australians will be forced to pay taxes on unrealised gains in their super accounts. And, importantly, the more Australians who get hit by this unfair and badly designed tax, the harder they will find it to pay the bill. Wealthy people often have monies elsewhere that they can draw on to pay taxes on assets they haven't yet sold. They have bigger investment portfolios. But over time, without indexation, when this new tax starts to hit the rest of us, a greater percentage of those affected by it will be forced to sell from their super to cover the tax. And if these design features weren't flawed enough, you can't even cover the tax hit on a yearly increase with on paper losses in other years. If the asset goes down, too bad, you still have to pay the tax in the year it went up on paper. It's ridiculous. Just to be clear, I'm not sure I'll ever be required to pay this tax, unless the Greens get their way and lower the threshold below $3m. So my complaints about its design aren't built on self-interest. Guess who else won't have to pay this tax? Many state politicians, bureaucrats and judges, who are constitutionally exempt from having to do so. Their super payments are protected from what Labor is doing. How's that for fairness? I'm all for a serious debate about wider tax reform, and within that debate I'm open minded about a tax mix that might include inheritance taxes, a higher and broader GST, taxes on the family home and limiting negative gearing. Even changes to capital gains taxes are worth a look. As long as the government is also open minded about cutting other inefficient taxes, let's have the debate. It's overdue. The last serious tax reform to take place was at the turn of the century when the GST was introduced by the Howard government. Our tax and spend system is now broken and in need of repair. But the piecemeal application of new taxes, like Labor's super slug, usually results in poorly drafted changes. The discussion needs to be more holistic and it needs to involve proper consultation and debate with tax experts. That didn't happen with the incoming super tax. Labor had the idea, it told the tax experts about it, and they replied that the design was poor and in need of redrafting. That didn't happen, of course. Labor won an election (not focused on this issue) so it is now claiming a mandate to legislate it. By definition it does have a mandate, because it won the election comfortably, having flagged its intentions on super. But in the pantheon of election mandates, this isn't a particularly strong one. The victory on election day might have been emphatic, but the reasons were unrelated to this badly designed tax. That said, it was a failure of the opposition not to make this a focal point during the campaign, the same way the Coalition did so with Bill Shorten's franking credits policy ahead of the 2019 election. This new tax on unrealised gains will be legislated when parliament returns at the end of July. It will be interesting to see if the opposition can get its act together and expose the faults inherent within it - using the issue to take some shine off the re-elected Labor government.
News.com.au
16-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
‘We'll tax you till you're poor': How Norway's Labor-style wealth tax sparked $84 billion disaster
Labor's controversial tax on unrealised superannuation gains has already sparked 'panic' as investors scramble to sell off assets — and experts say Australia should heed the warning of Norway as a cautionary tale. Treasurer Jim Chalmers defended his plan to double the tax rate on superannuation earnings above $3 million, from 15 per cent to 30 per cent, despite growing pressure to ditch the policy which would, most controversially, tax unrealised gains on assets including property, farms and shares held by super funds. He called the policy 'modest' and claimed the 'changes affect a tiny, tiny sliver of people with superannuation'. However, a policy with similarities to Labor's was brought in by Norway's government two years ago, and the effects have been stark. 'Don't come to Norway, we will tax you till you're poor — and when you have nothing left, we will tax you a little more,' Christer Dalsbøe, founder of Norwegian tech company Braver sang in a video that caused a stir on social media last year. 'Before you make a grave mistake, you need to be aware. We even tax paper valuations. You'll have to sell your shares. So if you're good at technology or business, please stay out. A booming public sector is what this country is about.' Norway, with a population of 5.5 million, has similarly high income taxes as Australia used to fund its generous social welfare programs, but its wealth taxes are unusual, as they include unrealised gains — taxing the change in the value of an asset even if it is not sold. In 2023, the country's centre-left government raised its wealth tax to 1.1 per cent from 0.85 per cent and raised the dividend tax, accelerating an unprecedented exodus of the country's ultra-wealthy, many of whom have relocated to Switzerland in recent years. 'The recent wealth tax increase in Norway was expected to bring in an additional $US146 million ($228 million) in yearly tax revenue,' according to research by Alex Recouso, co-founder and chief executive of CitizenX. 'Instead, individuals worth $US54 billion ($84 billion) left the country, leading to a lost $US594 million ($927 million) in yearly wealth tax revenue. That's a net decrease of $US448 million ($699 million).' Among those billionaires and multi-millionaires to flee were industrial tycoon Kjell Inge Røkke, who moved to Italian-speaking Swiss city of Lugano. Mr Røkke was Norway's fourth-richest person and the country's highest taxed individual in 2022. His departure was expected to cost Norway about 175 million kroner ($26 million) in lost tax revenue per year, according to The Guardian. Owners of companies are among those hit hardest, often drawing a modest salary even though their company has a high value. 'If your salary is one million and you have to pay one million in [wealth] tax, it's clear that it's untenable,' Tord Ueland Kolstad, a real-estate magnate who 'grudgingly' moved to Lucerne, Switzerland in 2022, told AFP last year. 'The system is designed so that it confiscates more than what you can produce.' To pay a wealth tax, which can exceed their yearly income, entrepreneurs often need to take out dividends, hampering their company's capacity to invest. Those dividends are also subject to a tax rate of 37.84 per cent. 'So basically you have two options — either leave Norway, or sell your company,' Mr Kolstad said. Mr Recouso explains that Norway's approach to wealth taxation 'reflects a sophisticated yet burdensome system that interweaves multiple fiscal obligations'. 'Each municipality wields authority to levy its own tax rates, while the national government imposes additional charges on personal income, net worth, and various forms of capital,' he writes. 'The current structure encompasses property tax, value-added tax, and capital gains tax, creating a comprehensive framework that has prompted many of the nation's wealthiest citizens to reconsider their residency.' He adds that the valuation of assets for tax purposes, particularly real estate holdings, 'frequently generates friction between taxpayers and the tax administration, as disagreements arise over assessment methods and fair market determinations'. 'Norwegian entrepreneurs and billionaires face particularly galling challenges under this tax regime,' he says. 'The wealth tax rate, combined with dividend tax, often forces business owners to withdraw substantial funds from their companies solely to meet tax obligations. This creates a destructive cycle that hampers business growth and reduces incentives for domestic investment. 'The situation becomes even more complex when you consider the exit tax regulations, which insidiously attempt to capture value from departing residents.' Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store last year criticised the exodus, stressing that taxes are what pay for Norway's generous welfare system. 'When you've made your wealth in Norway, put your kids in school, benefited from the healthcare system, driven on the roads and reaped the rewards of its research, it's a breach of the social contract,' he said in a speech to parliament. Geoff Wilson, founder of Wilson Asset Management, said Norway 'provides valuable lessons for Australia'. 'Since [2023], over 100 of Norway's top 400 taxpayers, representing 50 per cent of that group's wealth, have left the country to protect their businesses,' he wrote in a report last month critiquing Labor's proposal. 'Norway has since seen a fall in gross domestic product, venture capital investment, and has also experienced higher household indebtedness … the Norwegian brain and wealth drain is a direct result of the tax on unrealised gains.' Treasurer Jim Chalmers held firm this week on his plan. 'I think most people recognise that these are modest changes [that] affect a tiny, tiny sliver of people with superannuation — still concessional tax treatment just slightly less concessional for people with very large superannuation balances,' he told The Australian Financial Review. The government has also been criticised for the decision not to index the $3 million cap to inflation, with modelling suggesting the number of taxpayers affected would rise from 80,000 initially to capture the majority of Gen Z workers entering the workforce today by the time they retire. Financial advisers this week warned retirees with self-managed super funds (SMSFs) had already begun 'panic' selling assets and restructuring their investment portfolios to get ahead of the changes, which are slated to start on July 1 if the legislation is passed by the Labor-Greens majority Senate. Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume this week called on Dr Chalmers to abandon the 'unfair' policy and urged his new economic team to 'speak sense' to the Treasurer. SMSF Association chief executive Peter Burgess on Thursday called on the government to urgently rethink the tax. 'No one disputes Treasury's desire for a fair and equitable superannuation system, but to claim this tax only affects a minority and serves the national interest is shortsighted,' Mr Burgess said. 'It ignores the broader ripple effects. The government's narrow focus is blind to the vital connections between superannuants, small business owners, primary producers, and angel investors. This oversight is already destabilising the SMSF sector and threatens to disrupt the delicate balance of our economic ecosystem.' Warren Hogan, the chief economic advisor to Judo Bank and managing director and founder of EQ Economics, told Sky News the principle of taxing unrealised gains would 'not work very well'. 'You've got this asset that's gone up in value, but you don't want to have to sell that asset in order to pay the tax on it,' he said on Friday. 'So where do you get money or liquidity from? 'You have to sell something else or have money in the bank to pay that tax. In practice, it doesn't work very well, particularly for those sorts of assets like farms and houses.' And a growing number of high-profile investors have warned the policy will devastate Australia's venture capital and private equity sectors, responsible for funding some of the country's biggest start-up success stories like $50 billion tech firm Canva. Industry figures say the proposed tax does not account for the highly illiquid nature of start-up investments. 'I've turned down like five good companies that I would have put money into, just because I don't even know how I'm going to deal with it,' angel investor Dean McEvoy told Capital Brief. As of January, the total assets under management for all Australia-focused private capital funds reported was just under $150 billion, according to ASIC figures. That includes $60 billion in unlisted equities, $60 billion from unlisted property, $16 billion in private debt, $12 billion in alternatives, and a growing number of green-focused companies and initiatives. 'This tax will cripple these markets, especially those that predominantly invest in emerging industries such as technology start-ups that address climate change and those driving forward the transition towards a greener economy,' Mr Wilson said. 'These markets are illiquid and mark to market accounting requires six monthly reassessment of valuations, posing great risks.' Citing the example of Canva, the web-based design platform founded in Perth a decade ago, Mr Wilson noted that to achieve its current valuation it had 18 funding rounds. 'Under taxing of unrealised gains, every funding round would require tax to be paid on a hypothetical valuation,' he said. 'Most start-ups operate with negative cashflow and when capital is raised it is to fund growth, not to provide liquidity to investors. Therefore, there is no liquidity to pay tax on an unrealised gain. If this tax is implemented, the Australian venture capital industry will be permanently and negatively impacted. Start-ups will move offshore and green initiatives with long time horizons will not get off the ground.' Mr Wilson estimates that changes could have the unintended consequence of triggering a flood of money into the housing market, with up to $155 billion in assets moving into tax exempt structures such as the primary residences. Dr Chalmers again defended the policy on Friday, saying there was 'not a unanimous view amongst economists about the worthiness of the change that we're proposing — I think Chris Richardson wrote something supporting it'. 'So as always when you're making a change like this there's always a range of views,' he told reporters. 'Obviously I follow closely the comments made by the peak groups and others. We're still providing concessional tax treatment for big balances in superannuation, it's just slightly less concessional. But it's concessional compared to the marginal rate that people would be paying.' The Treasurer insisted 'we need a little bit of perspective here'. 'I know this is seen in some quarters as contentious,' he said. 'We announced this policy almost two-and-a-half years ago, it's been in the parliament for a big chunk of that, we've been consulting on it. It's a modest change. It still leaves concessional tax arrangements in there for people who have more than $3 million in super. It is a modest change, it does impact only a very small amount of people and it still provides concessional tax treatment.'
