Super tax changes a ‘down payment’ for greater reform
· Michael West
Wealthy superannuants will pay more tax on balances over $3 million after the Greens rolled over on demands to beef up the contentious new laws.
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The government is expected to get the long-promised tax changes passed through parliament by the end of the week.
The Greens had been withholding their support for the superannuation tax package because they felt it didn’t go far enough.
Greens treasury spokesman Nick McKim accused Labor of watering down its original proposal, which was first announced in 2023, because unrealised capital gains will no longer be captured by the new tax.
The tax rate on earnings for superannuants with more than $3 million will double. (Steven Saphore/AAP PHOTOS)Starting from July 1, the tax rate on superannuation earnings for accounts above $3 million will be doubled to 30 per cent.
Earnings above $4 million will be taxed at 40 per cent – higher than the original proposal.
The thresholds will be indexed to prevent the number of Australians captured by the changes from blowing out over time.
The new package will also increase the low-income superannuation tax offset threshold from $37,000 to $45,000 and boost the maximum payment to $810.
Much more work is needed to make the tax system fairer, Greens senator Nick McKim says. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)Despite their misgivings, Senator McKim said the Greens would support the bills as “a down payment on genuine, progressive tax reform” in the upcoming budget.
“This budget is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for ambitious tax reform, and we are opening the door for Labor to walk through,” he said.
The bill barely scratched the surface on the changes needed to fix a tax system “turbocharging intergenerational inequality”, Senator McKim said.
“We expect bold tax reform so young people and working Australians are not left carrying the load while the super-wealthy enjoy generous tax concessions on their income from assets,” he said.
Already, the Greens have been pushing the government to rein in investor tax concessions on property, including the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing, which they argue has fuelled a sharp rise in housing costs and widened wealth inequality.
The Greens will back Labor’s super tax changes. But let’s be honest about it. It barely scratches the surface of the wealth inequality crisis.
You should not be paying a higher tax rate on your wages than the richest super accounts. Yet that’s exactly what our system allows.
— Nick McKim (@NickMcKim) March 10, 2026
Treasury is reportedly investigating lowering the 50 per cent discount on capital gains for investment properties held for longer than 12 months.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers thanked the Greens for their “constructive” engagement on the super tax laws.
With the Greens’ support, Labor can get the bill through the Senate, even if the coalition vote against it.
“A vote against these reforms is a vote against a more secure retirement for more than a million Australians, including hundreds of thousands of young people and women,” Dr Chalmers said in a statement.