Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Colbeck for his question. I didn't get the opportunity with the previous question to point out just how small the impact of our super change is going to be. It's worth repeating that 99.5 per cent of superannuation recipients are not going to be the subject of this change.

In terms of the issue that you've just raised—in terms of unrealised gains—the simplest and least-cost approach is to apply the tax on the growth of an individual's balance over the year. This approach, recommended by Treasury, includes assessing unrealised capital gains. This approach strikes, we believe, the right balance between simplicity and ensuring that the tax can be applied across the system.

Trustees already calculate the value of their fund each year and submit that to the tax office, which will enable the ATO to—