Watching Bill Shorten these days is like a slow motion train wreck.
With the Turnbull Government seemingly outflanking Labor in its bid to make superannuation contribution concessions more progressive, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten yesterday hit back with the following drivel. From The Australian:
Bill Shorten has demanded the Coalition government not “muck around with people’s super”…
The Opposition Leader today seized on a report of economic modelling in The Australian that showed a superannuation policy under close consideration by the Turnbull government would punish more than nine million workers with higher taxes on their retirement savings.
Speaking in Canberra this morning, Mr Shorten said the government should both “tackle the superannuation tax concessions at the very high end” and “not muck around with people’s super”.
“Today we see reports in The Australian of 9.5 million people who are receiving superannuation, the government’s thinking about doing something to diminish their savings,” the Opposition Leader said.
For goodness sakes, Bill, look at the way that superannuation contributions concessions are currently distributed:
Blind Freddy can see that this system is unfair because it confers the biggest benefits to those on higher incomes, whilst giving little (or punishing) those on lower incomes. Someone that is heading-up the so-called “workers party” should recognise these facts, rather than running a scare campaign.
Sure, if the Coalition adopts Deloitte’s (and MB’s) plan to replace the 15% flat tax on super contributions with a 15% deduction from one’s marginal tax rate, then it would marginally penalise so-called middle income earners – i.e. those earning between $37,000 and $80,000. But only just. And it’s hardly sufficient or worthy enough to launch a scare campaign, particularly when the Budget could save $6 billion from such reform – money that would also benefit these same people.
It’s no wonder that reform in this country has become so difficult when populists like Bill Shorten deride even the most common sense measures.
