Senate Inquiry into Government’s superannuation package

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Senate Economics Legislation Committee

11 November 2016

Mr Jack Hammond QC

Save Our Super

By email:

 

Dear Mr Hammond

Inquiry into Superannuation (Excess Transfer Balance Tax) Imposition Bill 2016 [Provisions] and

Treasury Laws Amendment (Fair and Sustainable Superannuation) Bill 2016 [Provisions]

On 10 November 2016 the Senate referred the provisions of the Superannuation (Excess Transfer Balance Tax) Imposition Bill 2016 and the Treasury Laws Amendment (Fair and Sustainable Superannuation) Bill 2016 to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee for inquiry and report.

I am writing to invite you to make a submission to this inquiry.  The Committee is due to report to the Senate by 23 November 2016. Given the short time frame for inquiry and report, the Committee would like to receive submissions by 17 November 2016.

The Committee is seeking written submissions from interested individuals and organisations preferably in electronic form submitted online or sent by email to economics.sen@aph.gov.au as an attached Adobe PDF or MS Word format document. The email must include full postal address and contact details.

Alternatively, written submissions may be sent to:

Committee Secretary

Senate Economics Legislation Committee

PO Box 6100

Parliament House

Canberra   ACT   2600

 

E-mailed submissions should include your name, phone number and postal address (in the email, not the submission) so that we can verify them and/or contact you.

Submissions are confidential until the Committee releases them. You must not release your submission until the Committee advises that it has accepted and released it. Submissions that are accepted are protected by parliamentary privilege but the unauthorised release of them is not.

The Committee will normally make submissions public unless there is a request for confidentiality. If you would like a submission or part of it to be kept confidential please say so clearly in the submission.

The Committee will sympathetically consider requests for confidentiality, but cannot make promises in advance. If you have concerns about confidentiality I encourage you to call me to discuss this before lodging the submission. Notes on making submissions are available from the website. The Committee secretariat can also help: phone (02) 6277 3540 or email economics.sen@aph.gov.au. More information about this Committee is available at www.aph.gov.au/senate_economics.

Written submissions can address one or both bills in whole or in part.

Superannuation (Excess Transfer Balance Tax) Imposition Bill 2016 [Provisions]

The Superannuation (Excess Transfer Balance Tax) Imposition Bill 2016 proposes to impose a tax on the notional earnings of capital moved into a retirement phase superannuation account that is in excess of the $1.6 million transfer balance cap. From 1 July 2017, any notional earning of the excess capital would be taxed at a rate of 15 per cent.

Treasury Laws Amendment (Fair and Sustainable Superannuation) Bill 2016 [Provisions]

There are 10 measures proposed in the Treasury Laws Amendment (Fair and Sustainable Superannuation) Bill 2016 (TLA Bill). The measures are:

Transfer balance cap

Schedule 1 to the TLA Bill imposes a $1.6 million cap (the transfer balance cap) on the amount of capital that can be transferred to the tax free earnings retirement phase of superannuation.

Concessional superannuation contributions

Schedule 2 to the TLA Bill reduces:

  • the annual concessional contributions cap to $25,000 (from $30,000 for those aged under 49 at the end of the previous financial year and $35,000 otherwise); and
  • the threshold at which high‑income earners pay Division 293 tax on their concessionally taxed contributions to superannuation, to $250,000 (from $300,000).

Non-concessional contributions cap

Schedule 3 to the TLA Bill reduces the annual non‑concessional contributions cap from $180,000 to $100,000 (or $300,000 every three years).

Low income superannuation tax offset

Schedule 4 to the TLA Bill amends the Superannuation (Government Co‑contribution for Low Income Earners) Act 2003 to enable eligible low income (less than $37,000) earners to receive the low income superannuation tax offset.

Deducting personal contributions

Schedule 5 to the TLA Bill removes the requirement in the income tax law that an individual must earn less than 10 per cent of their income from their employment related activities to be able to deduct a personal contribution to superannuation and make it a concessional contribution.

Unused concessional cap carry forward

Schedule 6 to the TLA Bill introduces provisions to allow catch‑up concessional contributions.  This will allow individuals with a total superannuation balance of less than $500,000 to make additional concessional superannuation contributions in a financial year by utilising unused concessional contribution cap amounts from up to five previous financial years.

Tax offsets for spouse contributions

Schedule 7 to the TLA Bill amends the tax law to encourage individuals to make superannuation contributions for their low income spouses.  This is achieved by increasing the amount of income an individual’s spouse can earn before the individual ceases to be entitled to a tax offset for making superannuation contributions on behalf of their spouse.

Innovative income streams and integrity

Schedule 8 to the TLA Bill will extend the tax exemption on earnings in the retirement phase to products such as deferred lifetime annuities and group self-annuitisation products.

Anti-detriment provisions

Schedule 9 to the TLA Bill removes the income tax deduction which allows superannuation funds to claim a tax deduction for a portion of the death benefits paid to eligible dependants.

Administration and consequential amendments

Schedule 10 to the TLA Bill is designed to streamline some of the administrative processes of the Australian Taxation Office. In particular:

  • Part 1 of Schedule 10 to the TLA Bill 2016 amends the tax law to simplify and consolidate the range of existing processes for the release of amounts from individuals’ superannuation using a release authority.
  • Part 2 of Schedule 10 to the TLA Bill 2016 simplifies the taxation law to assist in streamlining the administration of the Division 293 tax regime. The amendments reduce compliance costs for superannuation providers and individuals where superannuation benefits become payable from defined benefit interests by removing the requirements in the taxation law relating to superannuation interests for which a Division 293 tax debt account is being kept for:
    • superannuation providers to notify the Commissioner of Taxation (Commissioner) of the amount of end benefit caps for their members in some circumstances; and
    • individuals to notify the Commissioner in any circumstance when their superannuation benefits from such interests first become payable.
  • Part 3 of Schedule 10 to the TLA Bill 2016 clarifies that the Commissioner can provide a single notice that includes two or more separate notices that are required to be provided.
  • Part 4 of Schedule 10 to the TLA Bill makes consequential amendments to the Superannuation Act 1976 that sets out the rules that govern the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme (CSS) in relation to release authorities issued by the Commissioner.  The amendments take account of changes made by other parts of the Superannuation Reform Package.

We look forward to receiving your views on this important issue.

Yours sincerely

Mr Mark Fitt
Committee Secretary

PO Box 6100, Parliament House, Canberra  ACT  2600 | Tel: (02) 6277 3540 | Fax: (02) 6277 5719
Email:  economics.sen@aph.gov.au | Internet: www.aph.gov.au/senate_economics

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