It seems not a day goes past in the news at the moment where the Labor Government’s ‘robin hood’ approach to superannuation tax reforms are discussed. Depends on which side of the fence that you sit, it is either a tax-grab from a bulging retirement bucket, or it’s providing reform to address longer-term adequacy and … Continue reading »
Find out more about the impact of the 2012 Federal Budget on the superannuation sector, by watching this webinar conducted by The SMSF Academy. The webinar looks at the key changes to the additional contributions tax to apply to high income earners and the impact of the deferral of the extended concessional contribution limit for … Continue reading »
It was a budget that certainly delivered on news that the Government was tightening its belt to deliver a budget surplus for 2012-13 and superannuation was certainly not immune from this pain. Unfortunately though, as a result of the announced changes in tonight’s budget, we are likely to see confidence in the superannuation sector erode … Continue reading »
Many people within the super industry have been moving uncomfortably in their chairs since the Government filtered out of news of an additional level of contributions tax on high income earners (greater than $300,000). This nervousness is justified as it is again another example of going for an easy revenue grab when confidence and stability … Continue reading »
The media was a buzz over the weekend regarding the proposed budget announcement to increase the contributions tax rate from 15% to 30% for individuals who earn more than $300,000 p.a. In 1996, the Coalition Government introduced the super surcharge to help ‘fix the mess’ of the previous Labor Government. This time, it appears the … Continue reading »
Here we go again… The rumour mill is in full-swing with news that the Labor Government will look to target superannuation in their pursuit of bringing the budget back to surplus. This video courtesy of SkyNews reports that super concessions are set to be cut back in the upcoming budget. What do you think? What … Continue reading »
Wayne Swan has handed down a ‘tough budget’ as the Labor Government strive to bring the economy back into surplus for 2012/13. For self-managed super funds and the superannuation industry, it was a budget that certainly won’t bring any front-page new stories, good or bad (and that’s probably a good thing!). Below are some of … Continue reading »
Budget night in May each year regularly throws up changes and challenges, and this one appears to be no different. Retirement policy with an aging population continues to grow in importance, but it is an area that Governments can’t help themselves to fiddle with when endeavoring to “balance the budget”. This year appears to be an interesting … Continue reading »
Further to the recommendations of the Henry Tax Review, the government has formally announced a range of superannuation initiatives in tonight’s budget including: increasing the super guarantee (SG) rate from 9% to 12% (over the next 10 years) providing a contribution of up to $500 for workers with incomes up to $37,000 extend the super … Continue reading »
The much-anticipated release of the report on Australia’s future tax system (Henry Tax Review) was released today. Of the 138 recommendations, the government has decided to adopt only a few in what appears to be political grandstanding in an election year. Whilst these were announced as the ‘first wave’ of changes, I wouldn’t be expecting any … Continue reading »