Superannuation Tax Burdens: Conceptual Issues

Taxes are levied on contributions to and earnings of Australian superannuation funds (but not on superannuants' withdrawals). For most people, the statutory rates are lower than the marginal personal income tax rate on their labour income. However, the effective rate of superannuation taxes can be much higher than the statutory rates, due to the compounding of taxes on fund earnings. Important normative and policy questions relate to whether the taxes on superannuation are too heavy or too light; imposed at the right junctures or not; equitable or inequitable between taxpayers. The answers should depend on objective claims about the effects of the taxation arrangements. To support those objective claims, various indices have been used to measure the burden of taxation on superannuation. This article questions the validity and interpretation of those indices and proposes an alternative. No attempt is made to sketch the optimal tax system for superannuation: The Tax and Transfer Policy Institute has issued a thoughtful paper on that (TTPI 2020). My objectives are limited: to critique the prevailing indicators of the effective rates of taxation and of the rate and quantum of tax concessions; to offer a preferred alternative; and to illustrate the quantitative and policy relevance.