$260M TAX HIT

How Shorten plans to smash 77,000 Gold Coasters

BILL Shorten’s plan to scrap tax refunds for share investments will rip $260 million from the pockets of more than 77,000 local residents.

And the plan will hit vulnerable retirees the hardest. Analysis of the ALP plan to ban cash rebates for tax credits by respected demographer Mark McCrindle shows more than 9000 self-funded Gold Coast retirees would be on average $6400 worse off under Shorten’s scheme. Mr McCrindle said the plan would hit our city harder because a higher than average number of retirees live here.

BILL Shorten’s plan to reform the tax system will cost Gold Coasters more than $260 million.

Data crunched by one of the nation’s most respected demographers reveals the Glitter Strip will be the epicentre of Labor’s proposal, which promises to abolish cash rebates on tax credits on shares.

More than 77,000 people across the greater Gold Coast region, which includes Tweed Heads, would be hurt by the changes. The worst hit will be those aged over 55, who will bleed more than $180 million. Superannuation fund bosses and retirees dubbed Mr Shorten’s move as “devastating”.

Demographer and social researcher Mark McCrindle said the Gold Coast would bear a greater burden because of its large older population.

“The Gold Coast is the nation’s sixth-largest city and is retirement central so those two factors, primary that the portion of retirees is higher than the national level, makes the city among the most affected,” Mr McCrindle said.

“The number of people impacted are primarily in the older categories, especially in the over 55s who are less likely to be paying tax on their earnings.

“You see the really big numbers in the over-60s and the Gold Coast would be the epicentre of any impact because of this population.”

The largest number of people affected across the country by Mr Shorten’s Robin Hood tax are those whose incomes are less than $18,200 annually.

The Opposition Leader wants to close the loophole introduced by the Howard Government in 2000 that allowed investors to get a cash refund if their tax imputation was more than the tax they owed. The changes to the system would claw back an expected $59 billion for the economy’s bottom line over 10 years.

Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia CEO Dr Martin Fahy said the proposed reforms could have a devastating impact on lowincome retirees.

“The reality is this impacts the people who don’t earn enough money to pay tax,” Dr Fahy said.

“If you’re at the top end and pay your tax, you’re not going to be impacted by this because you can offset it with your tax.

“The reality is that many in the retirement community on the Gold Coast have self-funded, self-managed superannuations. They have a modest balance and they’ve invested in equity. And these people are going to get slugged.

“It’s going to be four or five thousand on average for these people and that’s going to make a difference on their healthcare, bills, and the way they take care of themselves.”

Labor argues that it would hit only wealthy individuals and self-managed super funds, with the funds raised used for further tax relief for low and middle income earners.

Bill Shorten’s so-called Robin Hood plan to slug ‘’rich’’ investors is nothing but a hoodwink of the Australian public.

The Federal Opposition Leader has trumpeted his scheme to scrap cash refunds for franked dividends on share holdings as a measure aimed squarely at the nation’s most wealthy.

That’s untrue — and he undoubtedly knows it.

Australians of all levels of wealth and income would be hurt by this scheme.

But those hardest hit will be those Aussies who have admirably saved during their working lives to top up or even replace their pension with self-funded retirement income.

That is a cruel blow to receive at the end of a working life.

And the Gold Coast, with a higher proportion of investors and self-funded retirees, will be hit harder than most other regions.

Analysis by respected demographer Mark McCrindle for the Gold Coast Bulletin shows more than 77,000 residents in our city — more than 10 per cent of the population — would be worse off under Mr Shorten’s ill-conceived plan.

The idea is bad for those residents which means it will be bad for our city’s economy.

Mr McCrindle’s analysis shows the tax grab would rip more than $260 million out of the pockets of those 77000 locals.

Of those, more than 9000 are people aged over 75, who will on average be more than $6000 a year worse off — or collectively more than $60 million. That figure balloons to nearly $150 million for those aged 60 and above.

The $260 million total lost would otherwise be spent at our cafes, cinemas, shopping malls, on school fees, at theme parks. You get the picture, the multiplier effect would amplify the damage.

The idea also fails the fair go test. People who invest in shares are literally buying a share of those companies.

So by the time they receive their franked dividend, that payment has already been subjected to company tax.

If they are then forced to give back refunds, they are effectively being taxed twice — a principle authorities have long conceded is unfair.

Mr Shorten likes to present himself as a mate of the downtrodden, a comrade of the struggler.

But in one fell swoop he has betrayed some of the most vulnerable.

Self-funded retirees who earn too little to pay tax benefit the most from the current arrangement.

Any loss of this refund goes straight to their everyday expenses. Christmas pressies for the grandkids, power bills, groceries and council rates.

This is the politics of envy at its most egregious. Class warfare that aims a howitzer at those who least deserve it.

Mr Shorten has proved himself to be a cunning, calculating politician. But his numbers are off on this stupid plan.