Deposits tax a money grab – seniors
Australian seniors have a blunt message for the federal government: leave savers alone.
Over-50s lobby group National Seniors Australia has joined the opposition to a bank deposits tax, saying people who save are an easy target for governments.
‘‘They’re low-hanging fruit for governments who are keen to grab money,’’ chief executive Michael O’Neill said.
The tax – a 0.05 per cent levy on deposits up to A$250,000 (NZ$256,787) ) first proposed by Labor – is expected to be unveiled in the May 12 budget in a move that would raise about A$500 million a year. The Australian Bankers’ Association has said the tax would punish savers and selffunded retirees already struggling with low interest rates.
O’Neill says it doesn’t make sense to tax people who save when all the commentary is about drawing down debt for the nation. ‘‘At a time when term deposits are paying three-fifths to five-eighths of stuff-all, that just all the more reinforces the negativity about that.’’
He said the issue was similar to Labor reducing how long bank accounts and life insurance policies can be inactive before they are transferred to the government – to three years from seven years.
That increased the amount transferred to Australian Securities and Investments Commission as unclaimed money from about A$70m in 2011-12 to A$550m in 2012-13.
Seniors welcomed the coalition government’s announcement last month that it was restoring the time period back to seven years, but O’Neill said that had now been tempered by the talk of a deposits tax.
‘‘Leave savers alone.’’