Super tax debate ignores vital question of assets valuation

Apart from the complete disregard for established norms relating to tax policy, there is one glaring problem with the proposed higher tax rate for unrealised capital gains on superannuation balances over $3m (“Super tax ‘a risk to 29 Labor seats’ ”, 28/7). That is in valuing the assets.

First-year economics states the market value of an asset is the price agreed to between a willing buyer and a willing seller.

If an asset has not been sold, who determines its value? A valuation is simply one person’s opinion, and different valuations may very well produce different values. Expect a flood of litigation challenging valuations.

Mary Hackshaw, Northwood, Vic

While much of the debate around superannuation has focused on the proposed taxation of unrealised gains, an equally troubling issue has appeared to receive far less attention – the lack of indexation on the proposed $3m cap.

If this cap is not adjusted for inflation, its real value will erode over time. At a modest inflation rate of just 2 per cent per annum, $3m today would be worth only about $2.46m in a decade.

If fairness and long-term integrity are the aims of superannuation reform, then indexation of any cap must be part of the discussion.

David Adams, Toowoomba, Qld

Lesson from Argentina

Thank you, Alexander Downer (“Why Javier Milei is today’s most exciting politician”, 28/7), for simplifying how Australia should improve its financial affairs and government.

Downer writes that the Argentinian President has achieved a massive financial turnaround with his government’s policies.

Reducing a public service as one of the key planks is something too unpopular to consider in Australia. But why? If a business is unproductive, it loses money, goes under or limps on with the owners struggling and the employees on notice about their future.

After the failure of the voice, has there been any attempt by the government to minimise the number of federally funded Indigenous committees, organisations, quangos, etc, that are shown to be unproductive?

This is just one example of well-intentioned policy producing zero or negative outcomes. There would be many more departments overseeing continued failure that do not account for their own existence.

Francis Wright, Cottesloe, WA

Alexander Downer’s article about Argentina should be brought to the attention of all parliamentarians, union leaders and business chiefs.

It describes concisely how a richly endowed country poorly governed can lose the plot, and how – with inspired and courageous leadership – it can reinvent itself.

Peter Austin, Mount Victoria, NSW

Power of youth vote

Protests about welcome to country are fine, but wouldn’t it be wise to first understand what you’re protesting about?

The ceremony isn’t a welcome to Australia. It’s a welcome by traditional owners to a location within their tribal lands. If the right is going to concentrate on this issue, I suspect it should realise it will kiss goodbye to the votes of most of the 890,000 young people who will vote for the first time in the federal election of 2028. They would rather hear how we’re going to fix the housing problem.

John Capel, Black Rock, Vic

Batteries the future

Thank you, Tony Wood, for your insightful article about battery storage (“Battery storage a way to match power supply with demand”, 28/7).

Interestingly, around 70 per cent of rural Australians support clean-energy projects. But the process of storing wind and solar power needs streamlining. This is where battery storage comes in.

Australia has the highest uptake of rooftop solar in the world, so installing batteries is a worthwhile energy investment for most communities.

The excess energy from solar can be stored in the batteries and provide back-up power in the case of blackouts.

It can also help stabilise our grid, which is in desperate need of an upgrade.

This can be done with both community batteries and household batteries. With the right planning, we should definitely be able to use clean-energy technology to our benefit.

Anne O’Hara, Wanniassa, ACT

Defence debacle

The lead story (“UK to China: it’s all the way with Aussie allies”, 28/7) really brings home just how depleted our nation’s naval capacities really are.

Over the last two decades, much-needed defence funds have been diverted to other so-called priorities to the detriment of our nation’s security.

So when is Defence Minister Richard Marles going to drain the swamp of the top-heavy brass across the three services and the Department of Defence?

Mike Flanigan, Wellington Point, Qld