Govt needs to be specific on super tax intentions
The Federal Opposition has sought to step up pressure on the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, to be more definitive about how the Government will treat taxation of superannuation for high income earners.
While the Prime Minster has ruled out a tax on super payments for those aged over 60s, the Shadow Assistant Treasurer, Senator Mathias Cormann, claims it is an undertaking that cannot be trusted and that the Government must go further.
"...If Julia Gillard can rule out taxes on super payments for the over 60s, she must also rule out increased taxes on super savings and super earnings," he said. "Australians saving for their retirement and putting up to $25,000 into their superannuation per year at a 15 per cent tax rate are not rich. Mostly they are families playing catch-up with their retirement savings after their kids have grown up and they've paid off most or all of their mortgage."
However the Minister for Financial Services, Bill Shorten, has refused to give any specifics beyond the Prime Minister's undertaking and has refused to rule anything either in or out of the Budget.
Under questioning from journalists about the sustainability of superannuation tax concessions, Shorten said: "In terms of the Budget and what we do on that, I can't rule things in and I can't rule things out. But what I can do is ensure that there's no sort of false scare campaigns running around. The Prime Minister made it clear that we were keeping to our policy we stated in terms of the withdrawal tax".
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