Liberal Sen. Andrew Bragg has called for clarity in the exemption that question why some lawmakers are exempt.
Independent Thiel MP Dr. Monique Ryan joined a chorus of critics urging the Albanese government to reconsider its plans to double its superannuation balance, more than $3 million.
She said the proposal could distort the retirement system, inflate housing prices and unfairly affect young Australians.
In an open statement, Ryan said the government risked slamming its trust in the supersystem by charging through Congress with “unconscious plans.”
The proposed changes will increase from 15% to 30% of revenue from an ultra-balance of over $3 million since July 2025, the first change announced two years ago.
Furthermore, they are not indexed. That is, as the superfund grows due to inflation, more people fall into the scheme, especially the average family.
The government has also attracted criticism for considering taxing “unrealized capital gains” at supermarkets. This means that authorities can tax the paper value of assets, such as stocks and property, even if they have not been sold.
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This makes Australia the only developed country that taxes unrealized capital gains in this way, according to Jamie Green, executive chairman of PrimaryMarkets.
“If the value of the asset decreases, taxpayers will not receive cash refunds for previously paid taxes. Instead, they will move forward on whether it is useful in the future.”
Ryan flag affects Z
Kooyong MP said the government should reconsider its refusal to tax indexes.
“The government claims that only 0.5% of taxpayers will be affected, but the lack of index means that all Gen Z Australians could be affected by the age of 60,” Ryan said in a statement.
“The government’s plan to increase taxes on high balances should not include taxation of unrealized profits, but must be indexed.”
Liberal senators seek to exempt some lawmakers
Liberal Sen. Andrew Bragg also renewed criticism of the proposed change, accusing Treasury Jim Chalmers of protecting Congressional pensions.
“This is a profit-like conflict,” Bragg told Sky News. “The only way we can resolve it is to look at the tax arrangements that the Prime Minister and other politicians put in the bill itself before the Senate.”
His comments followed revelation that some legislators and civil servants on the old pension system could be exempt due to constitutional restrictions.
Bragg argued that the law is incomplete without transparency about how the defined profit system is treated, and asked the government to spell out how much tax MPS will pay under the new rules.
Greens supports taxes and seeks stricter rules
The law has stagnated in the Senate with crossbench opposition, but it is expected that workers will be the majority and Green will be giving their support.
Both parties have numbers passing laws that pass the Senate.
Meanwhile, the liberals refrained from the recent crossbench move in the House to index ultra-tax standards while avoiding issues during their recent campaign.
Greens Sen. Larissa Waters repeated her support for her party’s tax, but called for the threshold to be reduced to $2 million.
This move surprised Ryan.
“This takes a big bite from the future super balance of the younger Australian,” she warned.
The new tax is projected to raise $2.3 billion in the first year of 2027-28.
“Lawyers have already taken billions of people out of this new tax in the budget, but they need Senate green to make this tax law, Bragg said.
Chalmers defends change as “humility”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers stood by the measure as the government attempted to catch up with a string of spending commitments.
He explained that it is necessary to support services like Medicare.
“That only affects half of those with a balance of over $3 million,” Chalmers said. “It’s still a concessionary tax treatment, a concessionary concession.”
He said the change would generate nearly $40 billion over the next decade.
