Login
iscover
Despite big-ticket tax items being removed from the reform agenda, EY and a national mid-tier firm still believe significant changes are looming for superannuation in the upcoming federal budget.
Newsletter
EY foresees big changes to super
07 April 2016
•
8 minute read
While items like a GST hike have been effectively shelved, EY Australia’s superannuation leader Maree Pallisco told AccountantsDaily's sister publication SMSF Adviser that superannuation tax concessions appear in the government’s firing line.
You’re out of free articles for this month
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
“From what we understand, the government is looking for anywhere between $2 billion to $6 billion from the superannuation industry, and there is no other way to do it unfortunately,” she said.
Ms Pallisco said she was unsure exactly what would be on the chopping block, high-income earners could be a prime target.
Brad Eppingstall, director at RSM Australia, also believes the government could limit tax concessions on contributions.
“If you look at what has been ruled out – superannuation is one of the things that hadn’t been ruled out yet,” Mr Eppingstall told SMSF Adviser.
“This year, super is going to be a big issue,” he said.
Mr Eppingstall cited a recent Grattan Institute report which suggested that wealthy people who use superannuation funds to reduce their tax rates should be stopped by limiting the amount of pre-tax income they can get concessions on and ensuring earnings in retirement are taxed.
“Currently, people earning less than $300,000 per annum pay 15 per cent tax on their pre-tax compulsory contributions, while those earning more than $300,000 per annum pay 30 per cent tax. This has let the wealthy use superannuation to minimise tax, rather than to save specifically for retirement,” he said.
Mr Eppingstall also believes transition to retirement pensions are set to be dropped, given the potential multi-billion dollar budget saving.
You are not authorised to post comments.
Comments will undergo moderation before they get published.