The delay in the progress of the Division 296 tax bill through the Senate has been welcomed by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ), which has questioned where people would find the funds to pay tax on unrealised gains.
CAANZ chief executive Ainslie van Onselen criticised the Treasury Laws Amendment (Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions) Bill 2023, reiterating warnings first made when it, and the plan to tax unrealised gains in superannuation, was first raised in February 2023.
“This bill sets a dangerous precedent that should have been shut down by the Senate. What’s next? A tax on the unrealised value of the family home above $3 million?” van Onselen said.
She added CAANZ restated its case against the bill in its 2025/26 federal budget submission, urging crossbench senators to vote against it if parliament reconvened in March.
“The government’s changes to super would have seen tax increase from 15 per cent to 30 per cent on super funds above $3 million, leaving Australians with tax bills in the tens of thousands right in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis,” she noted.
“It would have captured unrealised gains held in self-managed funds, such as farms and small businesses, and unfairly penalised Australians who have been advised and encouraged to keep their assets in their super funds.
“For some hard-working Australians, the only way to pay these taxes would be to take out a loan or sell their assets – a frankly ridiculous notion.”
Debate on the bill was scheduled for last week, but was postponed by the government, which did not add it to the Senate agenda despite the upper house sitting for seven days from 4 to 13 February.
The Senate will sit for three days in March, but the bill’s progress may be halted by the calling of the next federal election, which must be held by 17 May.