‘Absolute disgrace’: Liberals lash Jim Chalmers after Treasurer rules out compromise on super tax plan
Labor’s super tax lashed as a ‘disgrace’ as Treasurer Jim Chalmers rules out changes to controversial unrealised gains component.
National
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Treasurer Jim Chalmers has rejected the idea of working with the Coalition on an alternate super tax plan, claiming he does not believe his opponents are “fair dinkum” about finding a compromise.
Coalition treasury spokesman Ted O’Brien then lashed Labor’s plan as an “absolute disgrace,” saying there was “no deal to be had” if Mr Chalmers was refusing to reconsider any of the controversial elements of the bill.
Labor’s proposal to double the concessional tax rate on super balances of $3 million or over to 30 per cent has been criticised for capturing so-called “unrealised gains” – paper profits on non-monetary assets like property or shares.
It has also been attacked because the $3m threshold is not indexed, meaning more people would be impacted over time.
Mr Chalmers on Wednesday also confirmed veteran federal politicians on an old defined benefits pension scheme would only have to pay the increased super tax on unrealised gains at retirement with interest added.
“Because the liability is paid on retirement, there’s an interest rate applied to it to make sure that there’s no inappropriate benefit,” he said.
Mr Chalmers accused critics of “lying” about the super tax increase not applying to people like Anthony Albanese who are on the defined benefits scheme.
He also argued Labor’s super plan had been public for two years, and after multiple rounds of consultation “nobody” had been able to come up with a “better, fairer way” of making the calculation as it applied to unrealised gains.
About 80,000 people or 0.5 per cent of super accounts would initially be captured by higher concessional tax.
Asked if he would be willing to consider the Greens’ proposal to lower the tax threshold to balances of $2m and above, Mr Chalmers said his preference was to push the bill through the Senate “without any changes”.
Earlier this week, Mr O’Brien signalled the Opposition was open to a conversation on the concessional tax treatment of super.
The Prime Minister then said it would be “welcome” if the Coalition was willing to be more “constructive” on a broad range of policies.
But Mr Chalmers hosed down suggestions Mr Albanese’s comments indicated the possibility of a deal with the Coalition on a reworked model of the super tax.
“I’m not convinced that (the Coalition) are fair dinkum when it comes to bipartisanship,” he said.
Coalition finance spokesman James Paterson previously said the tax on unrealised gains was “unsalvageable” in reference to its differential treatment of people on defined benefits.
Mr O’Brien said the Coalition’s “principled approach” was “very simple”, citing its goals as “lower, simpler and fairer tax”.
“Labor’s superannuation tax fails on all three measures,” he said.
Nationals Senator Matt Canavan argued against any changes to super, saying there was “no way in hell” his party would support Labor’s proposed tax increase.
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Originally published as ‘Absolute disgrace’: Liberals lash Jim Chalmers after Treasurer rules out compromise on super tax plan
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