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The Federal Government has sought to define clear differences between it and the Opposition on lifting the superannuation guarantee, claiming the Opposition leader, Tony Abbott has made clear he will oppose any such increase.
The Minister for Financial Services, Chris Bowen, said Abbott was opposed to lifting the guarantee because it would make employers reluctant to employ people — but Bowen said this claim ignored the experience between 1 July, 1992 and 30 June, 2003 when the guarantee was lifted to 9 per cent.
He said that during that time the Australian economy grew strongly, unemployment fell and labour productivity grew.
Bowen pointed to Abbott’s book, Battlelines, to suggest the opposition leader wanted to tax superannuation contributions at a person’s marginal tax rate — something Bowen claimed would result in a major fall in the superannuation lump sum of retirees and a reduction in take-home pay.
