A FAIRER AND MORE SUSTAINABLE TAX SYSTEM

The Government will improve the fairness and sustainability of the tax system by:

• Improving support for families with children in full-time school or training, by increasing the Family Tax Benefit Part A rate for 16-19 year olds in full-time secondary school.
• Converting the Education Tax Refund into a simple twice-yearly Schoolkids Bonus, paid through the family payments system.
• Boosting the retirement incomes of 8.4 million workers by significantly increasing the Superannuation Guarantee rate from 9 to 12 per cent.
• Making superannuation concessions fairer for 3.6 million low income earners, with the introduction of the Low Income Superannuation Contribution of up to $500.
• Reducing the superannuation tax concession for very high income earners, by reducing the concessional tax on contributions from 30 to 15 per cent, thereby making it fairer.
• Working towards a targeted and fairer superannuation concessional cap for people over 50 years of age with low balances.
• Ensuring the sustainability of the transfer system by increasing incrementally the eligibility age for the Age Pension from 65 in 2016-17 to 67 in 2023-24, recognising the retirement plans that people have already made.
• Ensuring the tax concession for living-away-from-home allowances and benefits is only available to those legitimately maintaining a home away from their actual home.
• Better targeting the Employment Termination Payment tax offset to those with genuine redundancies and other hardships, not golden handshakes for high income earners.
• Considering options which ensure that businesses and individuals can continue using trusts, with confidence that the tax outcomes applying to their circumstances are fair and consistent.
• Establishing reform processes to deliver the ongoing fairness and sustainability to the tax system, which includes the Superannuation Roundtable and the Not-for-profit Sector Tax Concession Working Group.