Superannuation

By Leith van Onselen Mercer have put some much needed perspective on the huge scare campaign being run against the Turnbull Government’s announced caps to superannuation.

Cross-posted from The Conversation: In 1988, Henry Fairlie famously wrote an article in The New Republic accompanied by a cover entitled “Greedy Geezers”.

By Leith van Onselen A year’s a long time in federal politics.

By Leith van Onselen In 2005, former Treasurer Peter Costello implemented the mother of baby boomer bribes in the form of the “transition-to-retirement” (TTR) rules, which allowed those aged over 55 to legally minimise their tax by salary sacrificing up to $35,000 into a superannuation account and then simultaneously withdrawing the funds as income.

By Leith van Onselen Robert Gottliebsen (“Gotti”) has taken a day off from doing Highrise Harry’s bidding and has instead launched an attack on the Turnbull Government’s so-called “retrospective” caps on superannuation, which he claims could cost the Coalition the election.

By Leith van Onselen Labor has today signaled that it might support the Coalition’s $1.6 million “restrospective” cap on tax-free superannuation contributions after all.

By Leith van Onselen It’s Groundhog Day, with Robert Gottliebsen (“Gotti”) once again proposing to allow young home buyers to raid their superannuation accounts to purchase their first home: It seems that if we are going to change the current falling home ownership rate we will have to do one of two things.

By Leith van Onselen One of the few pleasing aspects of this term of government is how the issue of superannuation reform has gone from a policy no-go zone to virtual bipartisan agreement that the system implemented by Peter Costello is overly generous, unsustainable, and must be wound back.

By Leith van Onselen As the army of super rent-seekers continue to moan about having to pay a token amount of tax under the Coalition’s announced super reforms, an accountant has advised that the lion’s share of retirement accounts would still remain tax free.

By Leith van Onselen Last week, former Howard Government deputy Prime Minister, Mark Vaile, went on a senseless rant against the Turnbull Government’s superannuation reforms, decrying their so-called “retrospectivity” and claiming that such “retrospectivity” would never have been contemplated during his time in the Howard government.

By Leith van Onselen Never get between a rich person and a tax rort. Today, the self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) industry – which typically represents Australia’s wealthiest retirees – are the latest pack of super rent-seekers to decry the Coalition’s and Labor’s proposed “retrospective” reforms to superannuation.

By Leith van Onselen Coalition supporters have ramped-up their campaign against the Turnbull Government’s so-called “retrospective” changes to superannuation.

By Leith van Onselen Finally Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has shown a backbone, staring down angry Coalition supporters over so-called “retrospective” changes to superannuation.

By Leith van Onselen The Labor Party has continued its hypocritical attack against the Government’s super policy today, maintaining the false argument that it comprises a “retrospective” change.

By Leith van Onselen Former Howard Government deputy Prime Minister, Mark Vaile, has gone on a senseless rant against the Turnbull Government’s superannuation reforms, decrying their so-called “retrospectivity”.

Cross-posted from The Conversation: The superannuation changes announced in last week’s federal budget will better target super towards its core purpose of supplementing the Age Pension.

By Leith van Onselen The Labor Party has once again attacked the Coalition’s $1.6 million superannuation cap today, wrongly claiming that it comprises a “retrospective” change.

Cross-posted from The Conversation: In his budget reply speech this week, Opposition leader Bill Shorten said Labor had “very grave concerns about retrospective changes” to superannuation being proposed by the government.

From somebody: I like MB, but you obviously have know idea what good financial planners do, and there are plenty of them out there.