In an economically and geopolitically challenging environment, this year’s Australian federal budget is the government’s opportunity to make decisions that bolster a resilient and sustainable economy that both withstands future obstacles and positions Australia for future success.

CA ANZ used its pre-budget submission, lodged with Treasury on 31 January, to again outline its opposition to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions and Other Measures) Bill 2023, and called on senators to vote against the legislation which could see individuals with more than A$3 million in superannuation assets face an additional 15% tax.

“Hard-working Australians could be forced to take out a loan or sell their hard-earned assets just to pay a tax on a gain that is a profit on paper only,” says CA ANZ’s group executive, advocacy and international development, Simon Grant.

“There are major design flaws with this proposed legislation. We also believe the tax will be very expensive for individuals, superannuation funds, tax agents, financial advisers and the ATO to administer, and will raise little net revenue when all these costs are considered.”

CA ANZ is also calling on the major parties to commit to tax reform, to better support Australia’s 2.5 million small businesses and for its members to be allowed to give Australians the financial advice they need for a dignified retirement.

“Our small business sector represents 97% of businesses, so it’s in everyone’s best interests to ensure they can operate efficiently and without unnecessary red tape,” says Grant.

“We recommend the federal government makes the instant asset tax write-off threshold permanent and the tax carry-back rules permanent, and provides a grant for small businesses to access financial health-check services.”

Other submission focus areas include regulating and administering the tax system, enhancing transparency to build trust, achieving net zero with transparent and consistent sustainability reporting, and boosting productivity through addressing education, skills and training needs.

What is CA ANZ advocating for?

Short-term recommendations include:

• Undertaking a post-implementation review of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 amendments and reduction of duplication and complexity of the regulatory framework for tax agents
• Clarifying the status of previously announced but unenacted measures
• Enforcing government guidelines on consultation, including broad public consultation over a minimum 30–60 day consultation period, and providing responses to feedback
• Removing Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) register search fees to reduce the cost barrier to comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations
• Making the temporarily increased instant asset write-off threshold a permanent measure
• Reviewing the financial adviser education standards and providing regulatory certainty for CAs who are not licensed to provide financial advice
• Building capacity across government and business regarding mandatory climate-related disclosures
• Refocusing the migration system on skills to tackle skill shortages, and investing in accounting, financial, digital, AI and sustainability education and skills to build the future workforce.

In the longer term, CA ANZ also calls for:

• Committing to a road map for tax reform
• Committing to simplifying and regularly reviewing the Corporations Act 2001 and the superannuation laws
• Funding an independent review to streamline corporate and personal insolvency laws
• Commissioning a productivity commission review of retirement tax and transfer policies, including aged-care subsidies, to simplify and resolve inconsistencies
• Funding a statutory review to assess corporate sustainability reporting, regulation and governance, including a road map to consolidate sustainability-related reporting requirements across government into a single framework
• Providing entitlements that learners can draw upon over their lifetimes to fund continuous learning, reskilling and upskilling.

See below to read more in the submission and media release on CA ANZ’s website.

Take aways

Head to our budget hub to find out what you need to know about the 2025–2026 federal budget: caanz.com/AU25

Learn more about CA ANZ’s 2025 policy priorities for advocacy and access our policy submissions at: caanz.com/pp25