Super tax subs worth $30bn in 2014BY ALEX DUNNIN | TUESDAY, 3 FEB 2015 11:15AMTreasury has released its Tax Expenditures statement showing that superannuation tax subsidies are still one of the most expensive areas of the Budget. Related News |
Editor's Choice
NSX to focus on dual listings over the next 12 months
|Following the departure of its chief operating officer, National Stock Exchange of Australia chief executive Max Cunningham told Financial Standard about his plans for the exchange in the near future, including its first-ever listing of a Canadian company next week.
Shorter CSLR payout timeframe awaits major bill passage
|The looming passage of a major bill will amend how levies are collected under the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR) and, in turn, speed up compensation payments to eligible victims.
State Street appoints head of Asia Pacific
|State Street has appointed Tim Helyar as head of Asia Pacific, effective immediately, taking the helm from Lochiel Crafter, who recently retired.
FEATURE | Digital advice | Interlocking the pieces
|Digital advice has become a core offering for wealth managers, yet it confuses many and implementation and use remain fragmented. Before it can achieve aspirations of scale, experts are urging for a better, unified understanding of the offering.
Further Reading
Products
Expert Feed
When geopolitics becomes a portfolio risk
Geopolitics is back - again - and Australian investors can no longer treat it as distant background noise.
Does association membership still matter?
With all the changes the advice sector has experienced in recent years, such as regulatory reform and increased education and professional standards ...
Digital assets and where they stand in 2026
So far in 2026 digital assets have captured the headlines largely for the wrong reasons, but that doesn't tell the full story.
Rethinking default design in a changing market environment
The evolution underway in the US DC system highlights the value of periodically reassessing default design assumptions.
Featured Profile
Sarah Shaw
GLOBAL PORTFOLIO MANAGER
4D INFRASTRUCTURE
4D INFRASTRUCTURE
It wasn't confidence that prompted Sarah Shaw to walk away from established investment houses and co-found 4D Infrastructure in 2015. It was something she believes is far more important: courage. By Vinny Vucago.
The Financial Standard podcast Tune in each week as we discuss the latest developments in Australia's wealth management industry. |  |
Watch the Greens and labor jump on the headline "30bn for the rich" many people in middle and lower incomes benefit from the reduced tax on Salary Sacrifice and tax free pensions as well.
Super tax concessions are pretty generous and so it should be you give up funds for up to 40 years and you should be encouraged to take responsibility for your retirement, not to mention the benefits of people who have super and dont get a Centrelink payment. That's $33K per year a couple don't get and $23K for a single person. There has to be some carrot to get people to save.
Labor takes away incentive reducing the co-contribution from $1500 to $500 and then puts the responsibility of employers to pay workers super at 12% with no mutual requirement for the worker to do anything.
If there is a problem it's the people who cash out super and then claim the age pension effectively double dipping - Solution, partly gate the money and tax excessive lump sum withdrawals.
Look out when Labor gets in next time: higher contributions tax rates, taxation of income streams, SGC of 12% for employers to pay, elimination of franking credits.
Socialism at work take from those that have and give to those who don't and trust the government to take care of you.
Mercer completed a study some 6 years ago that suggested the breakeven cost for super concessions vs centrelink liabilities was around $500,000. Therefore the only ones that "benefit" from these subsidies are those with more than $500k in super. Given this is way way above the average then few people actually have more than a "fair benefit". Given people with this much in super generally pay a truckload of personal income tax, it is hardly unfair or unreasonable.
This country seems to be obsessed with all these rich people rorting the system. There just aren't that many of them. Given the 2% income tax surcharge on incomes above $180k assessable income covers only 25% of the increase in only the health and welfare budget, I know where the budget is being destroyed and it is not the superannuation tax concessions.