Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy Minister Jane Hume has emphatically confirmed the taxation rules applying to the country’s retirement savings system will not be detrimentally changed should the Morrison government be returned at the federal election on May 21.
“There’s one clear promise that I would like to make to you today. The Morrison government is guaranteeing there will be no increased taxes on superannuation. Now let me repeat that. The Morrison government guarantees no new taxes on superannuation,” Hume said in a pre-recorded address to delegates at the SMSF Association National Conference 2022 in Adelaide today.
“We know that tax certainty is absolutely crucial so that Australians can plan their financial affairs and retirement with confidence.”
The minister also guaranteed a Morrison government will not make any additional changes to the flexibility measures regarding superannuation it has already made, such as the downsizer provisions, the carry-forward concessional contributions rules and the division 293 tax threshold.
She pointed out the ALP has not been able to make the same type of commitment.
“It’s disappointing that Labor has not ruled out abolishing these measures. We know at the last election the ALP went so far as to committing to removing even the widely used catch-up contributions regime,” she said.
“We’ve seen time and time again that Labor sees success as something to be taxed, not something to be celebrated.
“A re-elected Morrison government means stability and certainty for the superannuation system and only the coalition can be trusted to support the self-managed [superannuation] sector.”
According to Hume, the SMSF sector has provided an excellent model for many of the broad retirement savings system reforms the government has introduced over the past three years.
“Just last year this government legislated the most significant patch of super reforms in the last 30 years [and] these changes are estimated to deliver $17.9 billion to Australians over the next decade alone,” she noted.
