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22 December 2025
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Labor has caved to pressure on key parts of the Division 296 tax, though also added some important nuances. Here are six experts’ views on the changes and what they mean for you.
With Div. 296 looming, is there a smarter way to tax superannuation? This proposes a fairer, income-linked alternative that respects compounding, ensures predictability, and avoids taxing unrealised capital gains.
In selling the super tax, Labor has repeated Treasury claims of there being $50 billion in super tax concessions annually, mostly flowing to high-income earners. This figure is vastly overstated.
The current net annual cost of superannuation tax subsidies is around $40 billion, growing to more than $110 billion by 2060. These subsidies have always been bad policy, representing a waste of taxpayers' money.
The Government's proposed tax has copped a lot of flak though I think it's a reasonable approach to improve the long-term sustainability of superannuation and the retirement income system. Here’s why.
The costs of super concessions are usually quoted in gross terms, ignoring offsetting behavioural changes and social security savings. The impact of very large balances should be measured in net terms.
The taxation of superannuation in Australia is complex, inequitable and subject to regular change. These features reduce the long-term confidence of Australians in their superannuation system. We should do better.
The superannuation system has led to intergenerational envy about the tax benefits flowing to retirees. That envy wouldn't exist if super had been structured differently at inception, as Paul Keating originally envisaged.
There are two massive changes to super in the Budget: a $1.6 billion cap on the amount that can be held in super tax-free, and a $500,000 lifetime cap on non-concessional contributions.
I’ve long seen Buffett as a flawed genius: a great investor though a man with shortcomings. With his final letter to Berkshire shareholders, I reflect on how my views of Buffett have changed and the legacy he leaves.
With rates on hold and housing demand strong, lenders are pushing boundaries. As risky products return, borrowers should be cautious and not let clever marketing cloud their judgment.
Retirement isn’t a clean financial arc. Income shocks, health costs and family pressures hit at random, exposing the limits of age-based planning and the myth of a predictable “retirement journey".
The superannuation system has succeeded brilliantly at what it was designed to do: accumulate wealth during working lives. The next challenge is meeting members’ diverse needs in retirement.
I am a professional real estate investor who hears a lot of opinions rather than facts from so-called experts on the topic of property. Here are the largest myths when it comes to Australia’s biggest asset class.
Two years ago, I wrote an article suggesting that the odds favoured ASX shares easily outperforming residential property over the next decade. Here’s an update on where things stand today.