Federal election 2016: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull issues superannuation slapdown to high earners

MALCOLM Turnbull has lashed out at Liberals who are angry about planned hits on high earners’ super, telling them to “get real”.

MALCOLM Turnbull has lashed out at Liberals who are angry about planned hits on high earners’ super, telling them to “get real”.

In a message to wealthy supporters to stop complaining about budget measures that reduce tax concessions on retirement funds, Mr Turnbull said people’s super would still be taxed at a discounted rate if they were affected.

The PM said about 4 per cent of people who had more than $1.6 million in their super accounts would be hit with a 15 per cent tax when they previously paid nothing.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been accused by Labor of favouring the wealthy. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Shaming high earners over their complaints, Mr Turnbull said 15 per cent tax was “less tax than a kid pays on his marginal income stacking shelves at Woolies”.

“Let’s get real about this. Nobody likes paying more tax,” Mr Turnbull said.

“For people on very high incomes and people with very large balances, it is not quite as generous as it used to be and they are being required to pay some tax. But 15 per cent is a lower rate of tax than ... any Australians pay on their own personal income.”

The slapdown highlights Liberal strategists’ hopes that the hit on high earners will be a positive for Mr Turnbull, who has been accused by Labor of favouring the wealthy.

Some Liberals have threatened to push for changes to super policies, including a $500,000 lifetime cap on after contributions and a crackdown on tax concessions for transition to retirement income stream pension schemes.

But Mr Turnbull insisted he would not back down on the budget measures, which he said made the system “fairer” by funding tax cuts for low earners.

The Government, meanwhile, ramped up its attacks on the Opposition, with Scott Morrison claiming Labor had declared “war on growth using tax as their bullets”.

Mr Turnbull backed the Treasurer’s words, saying “Bill Shorten has declared war on business and the first casualties are jobs”.

The pair made the comments on the day remains of 33 former Vietnam veterans who had been buried overseas were repatriated to Australia.

Opposition Treasury spokesman Chris Bowen accused Mr Turnbull and Mr Morrison of being insensitive to the sacrifice of military veterans.

“I think they might want to just reflect about the use of that language on a day when we are considering war in another context,” Mr Bowen said.

Mr Shorten said “the Liberal Government is getting more desperate by the day”.

Neither Mr Turnbull nor Mr Shorten attended the repatriation ceremony at the RAAF Richmond airbase northwest of Sydney.

Originally published as Federal election 2016: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull issues superannuation slapdown to high earners