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Shorten looks to super to fund pre-election promises
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has renewed calls for super tax concessions to be cut, flagging his intentions to dial back “excessive loopholes” which favour high-net-worth individuals.
“We’re interested in [clamping] down on some of the loopholes at the top end of superannuation,” Mr Shorten said, when questioned by an ABC journalist on how he intends to raise taxes to fund his pre-election promises if Labor wins the next federal election.
“If you've got a couple of million dollars in superannuation and you've got an income stream of interest of a couple of hundred thousand dollars, I don't see why that should be tax-free income when someone else who is going to work earning far less, still pays more [on] tax,” he said.
Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has also called on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to wind back super tax concessions.
“We have a new Prime Minister, a new opportunity," Mr Bowen said, according to reports in The Guardian. "Perhaps he can rise above the scare campaign and embrace our policy, our call for this serious tax reform. If he does, it will have our bipartisan support.”
In late April this year, Mr Shorten announced the Labor Party’s intentions to tax earnings in retirement at 15 per cent for those earning over $75,000 and reduce the threshold of the high-income super charge to $250,000 from $300,000.
Labor predicts these changes will give the federal budget a $14.3 billion boost over 10 years.
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