The SMSF Association is hoping to see the new Labor government honour the pre-election promises made with regard to the nation’s tax system and superannuation framework when Treasurer Jim Chalmers hands down its first budget next week.
“We are hopeful the Treasurer will bring down a budget that is consistent with the promises they made before the election, which would [see it] continue with the stage three tax cuts, [even though they] are still a couple of years away, no changes to taxation rules relating to franking credits and any other adverse changes to the superannuation tax rules, [which] they have ruled out,” SMSF Association chief executive John Maroney told attendees at the 2022 selfmanagedsuper CoreData SMSF Service Provider Awards last week.
In expressing the body’s budget expectations, Maroney acknowledged the government has to prioritise fiscal repair, particularly given the angst the current budget deficit creates for retirees, but also pointed out there is more at stake for our elected officials.
“[While] we do need to build up the [economic] buffers, I think it’s also important to build up the level of trust that Australians have in their politicians and policymakers and those levels of trust have been suffering in recent years, so I’d really like to see this government stick to what it promised so that it can help build those trust levels again,” he said.
More specifically, he reiterated the association’s call to legislate the superannuation measures announced in the 2021 budget.
“[We’ve] encouraged them to support some of the announcements in last year’s federal budget, [such as] relaxing and making more flexible the residency arrangements for self-managed super funds,” he noted.
“We are a global workforce these days and it’s really important to have more flexibility there.
“Another area is trying to get something done with legacy pensions. I’m sure there are a few people in the room that can remember some of those complex arrangements that made a lot of sense 10 or 20 years ago, [but] have now outlived their usefulness and we really do need to have some rationalisation there.”
