David Potts at the Sydney Morning Herald writes:
Retirees with far less than $2 million in superannuation face extra tax bills…… the new tax will apply to all earnings above $100,000 a year from 2014, no matter the size of the nest egg.
The tax net is far broader than the 16,000, or 0.4 percent of retirees, mentioned in the recent announcement. Treasury estimates cited are based on a projected 5 per cent rate of return on investment and ignore the fact that returns can fluctuate widely, from 30% in a good year to -30% in a really bad year. Super funds with as little as $200,000 or $300,000 are affected if they earn more than $100,000 in any given year.
The problem is further exacerbated by capital gains, especially for self-managed funds that are not widely diversified. If a super fund sells a property or large block of shares, the asset may have been held for many years but the entire capital gain is recognized in the year in which the asset is sold. Despite some phase-in concessions, lumpy capital gains could lift a retiree over the $100,000 income threshold.
This is a deliberate tax grab that affects ordinary Australians while being sold to them under the smokescreen of “taxing the rich”.
Read more at Super plan contains a booby trap | David Potts | SMH.
Hat tip to Ody for bringing this to my attention on Incredible Charts forum.
Eeek! That really IS a pup!