Over the years, a relatively small number of people have been able to employ the often complex superannuation arrangements to gain very large tax concessions on some very large sums of money. Good luck to them, but it cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely.

Currently, the earnings of super balances on accounts other than super pension stream accounts are taxed at a nominal rate of 15 per cent. The effective tax rate is typically much lower at, say, 5 to 7.5 per cent due to factors such as the capital gains tax discount and dividend imputation credits.