Australians overwhelmingly distrust the Albanese Government on superannuation taxes and are undecided on whether they can trust the Opposition, a new nationwide poll has found.
The national poll also shows Labor’s perseverance at passing its new tax on superannuation savings convinces voters that the Government is likely to implement further, unannounced taxes if it is re-elected at the next election.
The poll was commissioned by the Financial Services Council (FSC) and conducted by CT Group between 16 – 31 January. It has a nationally representative sample size of 2523 and a margin of error of +/- 2.0 per cent.
Australia’s trust in the Labor Party when setting superannuation taxes was net negative 13 initially (with 31 per cent trusting the Labor Party and 44 per cent distrusting), however this poor result fell further to net negative 18 (with 28 per cent trusting the Labor Party and 46 per cent distrusting) when Labor’s recommitment to its plan to increase superannuation taxes on balances over $3 million was shared with respondents.
When asked whether Australians believed the Labor Party would introduce further tax changes on superannuation if they were re-elected, there was an overwhelming concern this would be the case, with a net positive 46 agreeing this was likely.
An astonishing 73 per cent of Australians thought it somewhat or very likely Labor will introduce further tax changes to superannuation if they are elected in the next federal election, with only 27 per cent thinking it was unlikely.
Distrust for the Liberal Party in setting superannuation taxes was net negative 5 initially (with 34 per cent trusting the Liberal Party and 40 per cent distrusting), however this result improved to net positive 4 (with 39 per cent trusting the Liberal Party and 35 per cent distrusting) when details on the Opposition’s commitment to “protect Australians’ retirement savings from unfair new taxes” was shared with respondents.
The polling comes as the Treasurer renews a push to convince the Senate to pass the Government’s new tax on superannuation balances in the final weeks of this parliamentary term. The industry has continued to raise concerns that the measure will not be indexed, hitting younger Australians the hardest, and will force people to pay a tax on unrealised gains, breaching fundamental principles of tax policy.
CEO of the FSC, Blake Briggs, said: “Australians do not trust politicians with their superannuation, but are particularly unnerved by the Government’s renewed push to increase taxes on their retirement savings in the final weeks of this parliament.
“Labor’s perseverance in raising taxes is eroding Australians’ trust in the Government on the eve of the federal election.
“Net trust in Labor on superannuation taxes is at negative 18 percent, and an astonishing 73 per cent of Australians thinking it likely that Labor will introduce further tax changes to superannuation if they are elected at the next federal election.
“The Government’s legislated objective for the superannuation system is to deliver income for a dignified retirement for Australian consumers. The Government’s superannuation tax should be withdrawn in favour of an economy-wide and evidence-based tax review after the next election.
“The Government’s superannuation tax breaches fundamental tax policy principles, by taxing unrealised gains, and the incidence of the tax will have the greatest impact on young Australians as a result of the deliberate decision not to index the $3 million threshold.
“Of the 500,000 working Australians who will be impacted by this tax during their lifetime, FSC modelling demonstrates that 400,000 are in their thirties or younger.”
“It is disingenuous to say this tax targets older and wealthier Australians when in reality it targets younger, middle-income Australians, designed to establish what is known as a ‘structural saving’ in the Budget that will be impossible for future governments to unwind,” Mr Briggs concluded.
FSC modelling shows that without indexation, the tax will eventually hit 500,000 additional Australians.
