Financial Industry Coalition Joins Farmers and Small Businesses in Opposition to Proposed ‘Super Tax’

A major coalition of financial industry bodies has joined forces with farmers and small business advocates to oppose the Australian Government’s proposed ‘Super Tax’. The Joint Associations Working Group, which represents 11 of Australia’s leading industry and professional bodies— including accountants, superannuation trustees, and financial advisers—has publicly called for the removal of the Super Tax from the Treasury Laws Amendment (Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions and Other Measures) Bill 2023. The group argues that more time is needed for consultation to avoid unintended consequences of the proposal.

This coalition’s opposition builds on ongoing concerns raised by the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF), the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA), and various crossbench members in both the lower and upper houses of Parliament.

A key issue raised is the proposed taxation of ‘unrealised gains’, which critics argue could have severe financial repercussions.

In a joint statement, the group, which includes CPA Australia, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and the Financial Services Council, highlighted the potential risks of the proposed tax:

“Unrealised capital gains in the calculation of earnings is likely to cause liquidity stress for many individuals and business entities impacted by this tax. The University of Adelaide estimates that had this tax been introduced in the 2021 and 2022 financial years, over 13% of impacted members would have experienced liquidity stress in meeting the new tax obligations.”

The statement further warns that small business owners could be forced to sell business premises to meet tax obligations, leading to significant transaction costs and increased investment risks.

NFF President David Jochinke emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating, “We have long been concerned about the proposed taxation of ‘unrealised gains’ on holdings, which is likely to impose an undue financial burden on thousands of small businesses.

In agriculture, older farmers often hold their assets in a Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF) and lease operations to their children, providing both retirement income for themselves and opportunities for the next generation.”

COSBOA CEO Luke Achterstraat echoed these concerns, urging the Government to make sensible changes to the Bill. “This is yet another group of voices calling on the Government to ensure that this Bill does not place significant financial pressure on family farmers and small business owners. It is clear that action is needed to address the unintended consequences on thousands of familyrun small businesses before permanent damage is done.”

The coalition’s opposition is rooted in the potential negative impact the Super Tax could have on small businesses and family farmers, particularly those using SMSFs to manage assets and business succession.

The proposed tax on unrealised gains could result in substantial financial obligations that exceed annual income, forcing older generations to sell assets or increase lease rates to unsustainable levels, potentially jeopardizing the viability of their children’s businesses.

As small business insolvencies reach decade highs, the coalition argues that introducing this complicated tax could exacerbate financial strain on hardworking Australians. They call on the Government to reconsider the proposal to demonstrate its commitment to supporting small businesses and farmers.

Nigel Dawe

THE first full-time job I ever undertook in Sydney many years ago, was as a ticket seller/ station hand at a suburban train station.

To this day, it is the most enjoyable and eye-opening experience of my life. I even refer to it as the practicum to my social analysis degree, and if anything, it was aiding of infinitely more insights into my fellow human beings than the actual studies themselves.

But out of all the countless thousands of people that I met through the course of my ‘frontline’ role, I remember one guy in particular who came through each day like clockwork, immaculately dressed, but deeply troubled. I asked him after many interactions, what he actually did, and why he seemed so down. His response took me by absolute surprise, “I lost my job near on a year ago, but my wife insists I head into the city ‘like I still work’ so our neighbours won’t realise.”

In this one fleeting story, it encapsulates the full tragedy and troubling follow through of a life that is all appearance, and absolutely no substance. Because without meaning or genuine purpose, life isn’t just a pointless exercise, it is a lifeless farce beyond all reckoning. As Jane Austen wove into her ironically titled Sense and Sensibility, “But to appear happy when I am so miserable — Oh! who can require it?”

The direct and most ‘sensible’ answer – is nobody, absolutely nobody at all! Life is way too short to have to keep up appearances, for whatever fickle or fantastically far-fetched reason; because as John Green once noted, “The thing about chameleoning your way through life is that it gets to where nothing is real.” And if anything, it transports its most ‘convincing’ practitioners to a place that isn’t just not real, but one that is so far removed from reality, that it could be considered a full-blown fiction.

Another commuter that became a sound acquaintance during my station days was a visiting professor of philosophy from the States, who happened to be undertaking a placement at Sydney Uni. I asked him, who would you suggest to someone interested in matters of the mind to read, and straight away he recommended (not Socrates or Marcus Aurelius) but Will Rogers. A vaudeville performer and social commentator who once famously said, “Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people that they don’t even like.”

In life, there are many people we might not know or like, but there are also selves that we need to know and like: and they are our very own selves, the people we are (for better or worse) behind the unlocked doors of our minds. Relatedly, the Nobel prize-winning Anatole France once proclaimed, “Within every one of us, there lives both a Don Quixote and a Sancho Panza to whom we hearken by turns; and though Sancho most persuades us, it is Don Quixote that we find ourselves obliged to admire.” To appear to appear…by