‘Our policy stands’: PM downplays Treasury advice on doubling tax rate for superannuation over $3m | Tax

Anthony Albanese said his plan to double the tax rate on pension balances above $3 million remains unchanged after the emergence of new Treasury modeling increased speculation that the government is open to potential adjustments.

The Prime Minister also downplayed the significance of his own office’s direct involvement, saying it was “not unusual” for the Treasury to brief his team on the controversial proposal.

The government recently lacked the numbers to pass legislation that would impose an extra 15% tax on residual earnings over $3 million and has yet to reintroduce the legislation since its massive federal election victory in 2025.

The changes, announced in February 2023, have come under sustained attack despite only covering the largest 0.5% of pension balances (around 80,000 people).

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The main criticisms are that policy taxes on so-called “unrealized gains” as well as cash profits are not indexed, and that the $3 million threshold is not indexed, meaning more people will be affected as super balances increase over time.

The delay in reintroducing the bill has increased speculation that the proposal is under review. Financial Review He said last month that the government was stalling while considering changes to respond to criticism.

At a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday, Treasury official Diane Brown confirmed that the department was modeling the impact of the changes on certain situations, such as venture capital investment.

“Stakeholders have expressed concerns about us,” Brown said. “We may have done some modeling so we can understand this better and that’s so we can give good advice to the government.”

Brown confirmed Albanese’s office had been informed of stakeholders’ concerns, but he downplayed this as routine practice.

Asked on Friday whether the government was considering changing the policy, Albanese said: “Our policy is as it is.”

“No, there is no policy change that we have not made. Our policy remains,” he repeated.

Albanese’s choice of words does not explicitly rule out future changes; This reflects the type of language the government used before changing its stance on phase three tax cuts in early 2024.

The Albanian government needs the support of the Coalition or the Greens to pass the law in the Senate.

The Greens, who have previously pushed for the super balance threshold to be reduced from $3 million to $2 million and indexed, are ready to negotiate with Labor.

The Guardian Australian understands the government has not spoken to Greens leader Larissa Waters or Greens economic spokesman Nick McKim about the super plan since the May election, leading them to doubt whether Albanese is ready to tackle them.

“At the moment Labor can’t even make progress on legislation to even slightly close tax loopholes for the richest 0.5% of Australians,” McKim said.

“Dr Chalmers’ desire to address intergenerational inequality does not bode well.”

“The Greens are willing and ready to work with the government to ensure this reform is fair, effective and sustainable. But we cannot negotiate with ourselves.”

The coalition continues to strongly oppose the legislation, meaning it will head for the scrap heap unless Labor changes its stance on relations with the Greens.

Shadow chancellor James Paterson said: “If the Prime Minister really thought Jim Chalmers’ unrealized capital gains tax was a good idea, he would have tried to pass it this year.”

“The fact that it doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about the treasurer’s confidence in his policy. The government must be honest and abandon this red-hot bill that has been criticized by experts and even Labor leaders.”