A bitter war of words is continuing between the federal government and the opposition as Labor continues to float winding back tax breaks on the nation's highest superannuation balances.
Labor is considering changing tax breaks on superannuation accounts with more than $3 millionFewer than 1 per cent of super accounts have more than $3 millionJim Chalmers wants what he's calling a national conversation on superannuation concessionsFewer than 1 per cent of superannuation accounts have more than $3 million. Of those accounts, the average balance is close to $6 million.
Speaking from India, Mr Chalmers told Sky News the tax breaks on these accounts were costing the budget close to $1 billion."We care about it [superannuation], we want to invest in it, we want to make sure that it delivers a decent retirement for people," he said. "So the fundamentals won't change, the tax concessionality [sic] will still be there but we do need to consider whether we can afford the degree of tax concessionality [sic] for people who have got very big balances."In the last week, the government has touted some of the changes it is considering to superannuation, including defining its objective to "preserve savings to deliver income for a dignified retirement".
Along with potentially winding back tax breaks, the government also wants to steer the trillions of dollars currently in superannuation into more productive investments and prevent people raiding their balances to buy houses. During the election campaign, Anthony Albanese said if elected Labor had "no intention" to make changes to super.
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