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April 1st, 2013 
Peter Nolan
Updated
Federal Labor backbencher Simon Crean has renewed his warning about making retrospective changes to the tax treatment of superannuation.
There are growing signs the Government will use the May budget to scale back some of the tax breaks available to high-income earners.
Labor frontbencher Craig Emerson yesterday suggested any changes would target the “fabulously wealthy”.
Mr Crean says if there are going to be changes, the Government needs to argue its case better.
“I’d like them to do two things. One: to say that they’re not going to tax retrospectively,” he said.
“The second thing I would like them to do is to actually frame the debate that we’re having.
“Instead of scaring people about their earnings going to be attacked, let’s say it is about sustainability,” he said.
Mr Crean says some of his Caucus colleagues share his concerns about potential changes to super.
“I’m not too sure at this stage what it is that’s being proposed by those in the Cabinet that are speaking about this,” he said.
“All I urge them to do is frame the debate sensibly. The test is – is it a retrospective application or is it about sustainability going forward?”
Prior to the leadership turmoil earlier this month, Mr Crean called for an end to “class warfare” and demanded the ALP rule out any changes to superannuation tax because “that can easily be run as a scare campaign”.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has accused Labor of preparing to raid super savings and says a Coalition government will not make any unexpected changes to superannuation in its first term.
Mr Abbott plans to scrap the low-income superannuation tax offset because it was funded by the mining tax, which the Coalition will repeal if it wins office.
Topics:
superannuation,
business-economics-and-finance,
government-and-politics,
political-parties,
alp,
federal-government,
australia
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Source Article from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-01/frame-the-debate-over-tax-on-super-says-crean/4603304
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