The federal election may be months away but Senator Mathias Cormann was a man in a hurry at Friday’s conclusion of the SPAA National Conference in Melbourne. Before a receptive audience, the shadow minister for financial services and superannuation was in full electioneering mode, slamming the government for “treating people’s retirement savings like an ATM”, while outlining the changes a Liberal government would undertake.
“What’s been going on in Canberra has been quite sad really,” said Cormann, adding that more taxes on superannuation from the current government are inevitable.
“The government is trying to prepare the ground for increased taxes. So over the last two weeks they have tried to create a story that somehow people saving to achieve a self-funded retirement are taking advantage of some inappropriate tax perks. But of course that is not the true story,” he said.
Cormann claims the government’s current budget, even without further change to the tax settings, expects revenue from superannuation to increase by 58 per cent by 2015/16, the fastest growing revenue category across the federal budget.
The Cormann commitment
Outlining his plans for superannuation reform, Cormann said a Coalition government would provide tax incentives to save, including raising concessional contribution caps from $25,000 and super co-contributions for lower income earners.
However, as delegates applauded, he was quick to add a caveat: “While we recognise it is too low, we can only revisit the concessional contribution caps once the budget is in a strong enough position.”
He committed a Coalition government to addressing the issue of excess contributions to make sure Australians are not unfairly penalised for genuine unintended errors.
Pursuing opportunities to cut unnecessary red tape in superannuation and removing regulatory barriers restricting product innovation and improving options to manage financial risks in the retirement phase are also on the agenda.
Cormann (left) couldn’t resist a parting shot at old sparring partner, Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation, Bill Shorten, who was due to make the closing address to the SPAA Conference but was a late scratching.
“I am very disappointed that my opposite number, Bill Shorten, has failed to attend this conference,” he said.
“Clearly Julia Gillard and Wayne Swan are out there trying to find more revenue, thinking that they can target superannuation as a soft touch. Well, it is Bill Shorten’s job to stand up for Australians saving to achieve a self-funded retirement.”
For full coverage of the SPAA National Conference, click here.
