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The Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions bill has been taken off the Senate debate schedule today, according to the official order of business.
***Updated****
Peter Burgess, SMSF Association CEO, said although it is not scheduled on the official order of business, there could still be the slim possibility that the government could reintroduce it today.
However, he noted that dropping it from the schedule is a sure sign that cabinet knows it does not have the numbers to safely pass the legislation as it stands.
"It’s a sure sign the government knows they don’t have the numbers in the Senate to pass this bill. It was clear from my discussions with Senate crossbench members earlier in the week that their concerns with this legislation run deep," Burgess said.
The government attempted to win over crossbench support for the bill earlier this week through a deal that would pair it with a populist measure on credit card surcharges, according to SMSF Association chief executive Peter Burgess.
Burgess met with crossbenchers this week in Canberra to discuss potential concerns about the super tax bill.
It is understood the government indicated to crossbenchers that if they didn’t vote for the superannuation bill as it stood, the surcharge measures would not be implemented, as reported by sister brand SMSF Adviser.
The government announced in October it would put in place measures to crack down on unfair and excessive card surcharges to help Australians and small businesses at physical and online checkouts.
It also announced on 15 October 2024 $2.1 million of new funding for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to tackle excessive surcharges, with further work underway to reduce payment fees.
“The government is prepared to ban debit card surcharges, subject to further work by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and safeguards to ensure both small businesses and consumers can benefit from lower costs,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said last year.
“We are prepared to ban debit card surcharging from 1 January 2026, subject to the consultation undertaken by the RBA, and sufficient steps and safeguards to ensure both small businesses and consumers can benefit from lower costs.”
Burgess said some of the crossbenchers he had spoken to indicated they would not support the bill if the government were to combine it with the credit card surcharge bill.
“The crossbenchers we have spoken with said they won’t support it, but there are a couple that we are concerned may vote with the government,” Burgess said.
“As far as we know, Senator David Pocock will not vote for it and we are at this stage still confident that the crossbench won’t vote for it.”
He said it was disappointing that the government had taken this approach to try and push through the “deeply flawed” bill by pairing it with a populist measure.
“The government has backed the crossbench into a corner. If they don’t vote for the super tax bill, their constituents will miss out on the credit card surcharge measures and some cost-of-living relief.”
