Amanda Rishworth: Minister defends Labor’s super tax amid leniency concerns for politicians

Amanda Rishworth has defended Labor’s proposal to roll back concessions on ultra-high super balances amid reporting federal parliamentarians may be able to defer payments.

Only half a per cent of Australians — some 80,000 — have super balances north of $3m.

Under the Albanese government’s plan, super accounts above that would be slugged with an extra 15 per cent on earnings, pumping $2.7bn into Commonwealth coffers annually, according to Treasury estimates.

But federal politicians enrolled in defined benefit pension schemes might not need to pay until after they retire, the Australian Financial Review has reported.

Appearing on morning TV, the newly appointed Workplace Relations Minister was asked: “Is it fair?”

“I have to be clear that both past and future federal politicians — if they have a super balance of over $3m — they’ll be have to pay tax under this measure as well,” Ms Rishworth told Nine.

“But what we’re talking about is a slightly less generous concession for people with balances over $3m.”

Pressed further, she insisted that she would be “subject to the same tax if my balance ever reaches over $3m”.

“Past federal and future federal MPs will be subject to this tax if their balance gets over three million (dollars),” Ms Rishworth said.

“Now, this is a reasonable measure and it’s still going to be subject to a concessional rate, it’s just not going to be as generous.

“And I would suggest that those 99.5 per cent of people that don’t have a balance over $3 million, probably assume that you would have to pay a little bit more tax for it.”

It was revealed earlier this month that a handful of judges and former state-level officials would be exempt from the tax.

The exemptions would be restricted to “those earnings in superannuation funds that the constitution prevents being taxed by the government will be excluded”, according to a government summary document.