Clive Palmer rallied on low income super tax scheme

Superannuation bodies have urged Clive Palmer to save the low income super contribution (LISC) scheme by voting down the repeal of the Mining Resources Rent Tax (MRRT).  

More than 30 industry voices wrote a letter to the Palmer United Party (PUP) leader to stress the importance of the scheme, which they said was relied on by many of the cohorts that made up the PUP faithful, such as rural workers and part-timers.   

The measure gives workers who earn $37,000 a year or less a rebate of up to $500 on tax paid on super contributions.  

It is reportedly received by around three million Australians.  

“It is surely unfair that while the highest paid workers receive a tax concession of 30 per cent, the lowest-paid would be penalised for saving for their retirement,” the letter reads.  

“Funding of LISC should be prioritised, as it benefits a third of the Australian workforce and is a crucial policy initiative in working to close the gap in retirement savings between men and women.” 

The signatories asked Palmer to only back the MRRT repeal if the funding of the LISC was detached from it.  

Organiser of the letter, National Chair of Women in Super, Cate Wood, said the LISC was a crucial restorer of equity in the superannuation system. 

The LISC is particularly beneficial to low-income earning women, particularly as women are more likely to live longer and therefore require higher retirement balances, she said.