Labor’s Hidden Super Tax: Another Broken Promise
OPINION
Most Australians do not spend their days reading tax legislation. They are busy working, raising families, running businesses and trying to put something aside for retirement. That is precisely what the Federal Labor government is counting on, sneaking even more tax changes through in their 2026 Budget.
The Government promised its new capital gains tax changes would leave superannuation alone. Now the Financial Services Council is warning the fine print could expose $372 billion of Australians’ retirement savings to higher tax, potentially raising more than $55 million a year.
A hidden super tax.
There may be no bill in the letterbox, but Australians will still pay. And we all know under this Labor government there’s very little left in the household budget after paying the many taxes they enforce, and now they are coming after your hard-earned superannuation as well.
The impact could work its way through the investment structures used by super funds. Changes to the way capital losses are applied can mean some investments generate a higher tax bill than they would have, under the existing rules. The industry is warning that, ultimately, those costs can flow through to lower returns for Australians’ super.
That might sound like a technical argument.
It isn't.
If your super earns less because more tax is being taken from its investments, you have less money for retirement.
You might be 35 and watching your super balance grow. You might be 55 and counting down the years until retirement. You might already be retired, relying on your savings to help pay the bills.
Every dollar that disappears from your retirement savings is a dollar that will not go towards paying for groceries, electricity or healthcare later in life.
This Labor Government is very good at drumming up stories about what it hands out, and very quiet with what it takes. They love announcements and headlines of what Australians are getting, but behind the scenes, the taxes keep growing, giving with one hand, and taking more with the other.
The extraordinary part is that the Government has already told Australians that super would be carved out of these changes. If that is what they intended, then why hasn’t the legislation been fixed?
Do not force Australians to spend precious time reading the fine print to realise another promise made by the Prime Minister and Treasurer has been broken.
People deserve honest taxes made clear at election time with no surprises down the track
Superannuation is not the Government’s money. It belongs to Australians who worked for it, saved it, and were told it would be there when they retire.
The Liberals and Nationals will keep fighting against these toxic taxes and hold this deceitful government to account.
Australians deserve to be able to keep more of what they earn and have confidence that the money they have saved for retirement will remain theirs.
ENDS
Contact: Amanda Wright | Media & Communications Adviser
P | 07 4944 0662 M | 0455 456 705 E | Amanda.Wright@aph.gov.au