More heat on dividend imputation rort

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By Leith van Onselen

Following reports earlier this month that dividend imputation credits received by tax-free (mostly wealthy) superannuation holders over the age of 60 are costing the Budget some $6 billion a year in forgone revenue, The Australia Institute (TAI) has released a new study showing that Australia’s $29 billion system of franking credits for investors is skewed heavily towards the rich and is costing the Budget some $5 billion a year. From Fairfax:

…the wealthiest 10 per cent of households – those earning disposable income of more than $207,000 – gain almost 75 per cent of the $10 billion in franking credits siphoned directly to them.

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.