The bill has been listed for debate in the Senate this Thursday (6 February).

“CA ANZ is concerned about the current design of this proposed legislation, including the lack of indexation of the $3 million cap, the taxation of unrealised capital gains and the carried forward allowance of capital losses,” CA ANZ CEO Ainslie van Onselen said.

Van Onselen said the legislation sought to address the problem of current high super balances for a small cohort of individuals who took advantage of past legitimate superannuation and tax policies.

“Most of these individuals are elderly and their super investments will leave the system over the next 10 years,” she added.

“There are major design flaws with this proposed legislation. We also believe this tax will be very expensive for individuals, superannuation funds, tax agents, financial advisers and the ATO to administer and will raise little net revenue when all these costs are considered.”

With an election set to be called no later than May, CA ANZ called on the major parties to commit to tax reforms, better support for Australia’s 2.5 million small businesses, and for its members to be allowed to provide Australians with the financial advice they need for a dignified retirement.

“With the election months if not weeks away, CA ANZ is hoping to see sensible policies from both major parties that put Australians first and think about long-term reform, instead of sugar hits and band-aids,” van Onselen said.

The small business sector represents 97 per cent of the country’s businesses, she said, and CA ANZ recommended the government make the instant asset write-off threshold permanent.

“CA ANZ believes the upcoming Budget and election are an opportunity to overhaul the country’s tax system and move away from an overreliance on personal income tax,” she said.

“Australia has relied too heavily on personal income tax to prop up our balance sheet, and that is taking a toll on hard working Australians who are just trying to get ahead in a difficult economy.”