Australia. Super tax breaks outweigh pension payments
Superannuation tax concessions provide higher income earners with greater taxpayer assistance than those on low incomes who rely on the age pension, according to a paper released by the government’s review into retirement incomes.
The consultation paper, which outlines the starting point for the review and the principles that will guide it, says the overall level of public support provided by the retirement income system “should be targeted to those who need it most”.
But modelling provided by the Treasury shows that even with measures designed to reduce the gap, such as higher concessional tax rates on super for those on the highest incomes, “more public support may be provided to those in higher income brackets”.
This support is in the form of concessional tax rates on both contributions and earnings over an average 40-year working life.
However, the government has already ruled out in advance tinkering further with superannuation after a range of measures in the 2016 budget slashed billions from tax concessions for superannuation.
Read more @AFR
