Who is really paying for superannuation changes?
The Federal Government needs to be more transparent about who is really paying for its changes to superannuation, according to Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA) specialist Liz Westover.
In an analysis of the Federal Budget published late last week, Westover pointed to the additional costs imposed by both the Government's Stronger Super policy and the changes included in last week's Budget.
She then pointed to the increased funding directed towards the regulators to assist in the implementation in those changes.
"The Government was quick to take credit for ensuring that our regulators were given appropriate levels of support to do their jobs effectively," Westover said.
"However, upon closer inspection of the budget papers, I question who is actually funding the additional support.
"It appears that the majority of funding provided to the regulators for superannuation and related areas will be offset by increases in fees and levies that will ultimately be paid for by Australian families and wage earners," she said.
"With the amount of reforms taking place at the moment, additional funding for regulators would certainly be welcomed, but let's be clear about where the funding is coming from," Westover said.
"The Government has maintained its commitment to a return to surplus in this Budget. How this is being achieved, however, needs to be more transparent. The Government needs to be open about who is really paying for what."
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