CA ANZ welcomes delay in super tax bill

CA ANZ has welcomed the Senate’s delay of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Better Targeted Superannuation Concession) Bill 2023 debate, as it would set a “dangerous precedent.”

Before the proposed discussion date of the bill, CA ANZ called for urgent amendments to be made as the bill would force individuals with more than $3 million in superannuation assets to borrow money or sell assets to pay tax bills.

As previously reported by Accountants Daily, CA ANZ has continued to campaign against the bill since it was first announced by the government in February 2023.

CA ANZ CEO Ainslie van Onselen said the bill, which sought to tax unrealised gains in Australia for the first time, would continue to be advocated against by the professional body.

“This Bill sets a dangerous precedent that should have been shut down by the Senate. What’s next? A tax on the unrealised value of the family home above $3 million?” she said.

“CA ANZ has not supported this Bill since its announcement and we used the 2025-26 Federal Budget Submission to advocate for the legislation to be voted down in the Senate.”

The body noted it was a relief the bill was delayed in what could have been the last sitting week of Parliament before the federal election was called.

Van Onselen said she would continue to call on the crossbench to not support the legislation if Parliament returned in March.

“The government’s changes to super would have seen tax increase from 15 per cent to 30 per cent on super funds above $3 million, leaving Australians with tax bills in the tens of thousands right in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis,” she said.

“It would have captured unrealised gains held in self-managed funds, such as farms and small businesses, and unfairly penalised Australians who have been advised and encouraged to keep their assets in their super funds.”

“For some hard-working Australians, the only way to pay these taxes would be to take out a loan or sell their assets – a frankly ridiculous notion.”

According to a report in Accountants Daily’s sister brand, SMSF Adviser, the $3 million super tax bill was likely to become an election issue following Senator Michaelia Cash’s motion to discharge the bill was dismissed.

SMSF Adviser noted the bill was unlikely to be put to the Senate again before the upcoming election given last Thursday was the last sitting day before Labor presented its budget on 25 March.

At the end of the debate on the super tax bill, Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said the debate was a “farce” and accused the government of trying to silence small business owners and farmers.

“This bill is not just going to affect some microcosm of Australians – it will affect every small business owner, every family farmer in this country,” she said.