In a number of interviews this week, Treasurer Jim Chalmers responded to questions about the tax, which has been garnering increasing media attention since the final weeks of the election campaign.
The proposed legislation has been drawing wide-ranging criticism, including from leaders in the corporate sector and former treasurer Paul Keating, who was responsible for introducing compulsory superannuation to Australia more than four decades ago.
It was reported in September 2024 that Keating warned that the plan to double the tax on retirement savings over $3 million could turn superannuation into a low- and middle-income pension scheme and damage community confidence in the $3.9 trillion savings system.
However, Chalmers said the government had announced the policy more than two years ago and had done extensive consultation on it.
“It is a policy that affects 0.5 per cent of people with balances above $3 million. It is still a concessional tax treatment for people. It’s slightly less concessional. And it helps us fund things like stronger Medicare or tax cuts or cost‑of‑living help or building more homes. And so it’s an important part of our budget,” he said.
“The calculation of unrealised gains exists elsewhere in the super system. It’s not unique to what we are proposing. It affects very few people. It’s still concessional treatment. It’s been part of our budget for a little while now. It’s been before the Parliament for a little while now and we haven’t changed our approach to it.”
Chalmers said it is not unusual for tax changes to be legislated after a start date, and added that he has been making the same point “repeatedly, really more or less since we first announced these changes more than two years ago”.
“This is a modest change which impacts a tiny sliver of the population,” he said.
“And it makes an important contribution to the budget, to priorities like strengthening Medicare, the tax cuts, building more homes. It’s been in the Parliament for a long time now. It’s a modest change that impacts a tiny amount of people and still provides concessional tax treatment for people in super.”
Speaking on Sky News, Liberal senator Jane Hume reiterated the opposition’s strong stance on the tax, adding that she was hopeful new Assistant Treasurer Dr Daniel Mulino and cabinet secretary Dr Andrew Charlton would “speak sense” to Chalmers.
“It is a retirement tax, there is no doubt about it. This is going to be following Labor around for a while,” Hume said.
“Now, I would hope that the new economics team that includes people like Andrew Charlton as cabinet secretary and Daniel Mulino as Assistant Treasurer, these are two people who have profound experience in economics, a lot of academic as well as professional [experience].
“I’m hoping that they’ll speak sense to Jim Chalmers, who is, as we know, the king of spin, as opposed to a real doctor of economics. These guys might be able to help Jim Chalmers see the light on this. It’s a terrible policy.”
When questioned on the possibility of the new ministers changing his mind on the design of the tax earlier in the week, Chalmers said it is “not something that you should anticipate”.
“It’s not something that we’re considering or planning, for all of the reasons I ran through comprehensively a moment ago when you asked me the first time,” Chalmers told Sky News.
