Yesterday
‘Never say never’: $150b super giant not pushing for board seats, yet
Aware Super boss Deanne Stewart says she prefers ‘private conversations’ with companies to encourage action on issues such as climate change, but did not rule out stronger interventions.
- Hannah Wootton and Gus McCubbing
- Exclusive
- Business Summit
HESTA pushes for climate-friendly directors at Woodside
The industry super giant is the first to move on what Paul Keating says will be a trend of funds using market power to seek influence on issues like energy transition.
- Sally Patten and Patrick Durkin
This Month
‘Heavy-handed’ rules needed to force super funds to help retirees
Labor may need to take the tough approach of increasing licensing or trustee duties if it wants super funds to improve treatment of customers approaching retirement.
- Hannah Wootton
February
Top 47pc tax rate encourages four-day weeks
The “Why work eight hours on Friday and get paid for four” mindset is creeping in as more than triple the number of taxpayers jump into the top tax bracket.
- Updated
- John Kehoe
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Board seats for super raise governance issues
Paul Keating’s 80th birthday interview raises the under-discussed issue of the impact of the $3.6 trillion union-influenced superannuation funds on the nation’s capital markets.
- The AFR View
‘Paradigm shift’: How to switch to spending in retirement
After decades spent saving, lean into the fear, plan obsessively and let go of the guilt, experts say.
- Joanna Mather
- Exclusive
- Tax disputes
Atlassian pays $92m tax bill after years of ATO talks
The software developer has struck a transfer pricing agreement with the Tax Office and has agreed to retain intellectual property in Australia that it will pay future tax on.
- John Kehoe
- Analysis
- Income tax
Divorce, trusts and negative gearing: the price of high taxes
High tax-paying families are increasingly exploring extreme strategies – including divorce – to make it easier to qualify for subsidies and benefits, writes John Kehoe.
- John Kehoe
Keating ‘on the money’ on super funds appointing directors
It is a “logical next step” for industry superannuation funds to seek roles on listed company boards, industry experts say, especially in the energy sector.
- Hannah Wootton
Tax commissioner says 47pc rate fuels tax minimisation
Chris Jordan says Australia’s top tax rate is encouraging people to minimise tax through trusts and companies, as Paul Keating argues a rate above 39 per cent is “confiscatory”.
- John Kehoe
Super funds, advisers keep customers ‘in the dark’ on duds: ASIC
Many Australians are invested in super products that are underperforming by “a significant amount and over a significant period of time”, ASIC has found.
- Hannah Wootton
Most Australians run out of super by the end of their lives: study
The research from a new industry super mega lobby group comes as the government considers how to make super funds better assist their customers in retirement.
- Hannah Wootton
Lendlease’s tax shenanigans are future people problems
In the best-case scenario, everyone wins. And should the ATO ensure the worst? Lendlease’s shareholders lose. Again.
- Myriam Robin
- Opinion
- Workplace culture
Parties, staff beauty contests and a ‘god’ dais: How the ATO has changed
Secrecy and privacy were legendary in the closed shop of the Australian Taxation Office where staffers were encouraged to socialise only with their colleagues. But times have changed.
- Tom Burton
Stage three tax changes to spur more negative gearing
The less generous tax cuts for higher-income earners and rising borrowing costs will encourage more people to use the strategy, experts say.
- John Kehoe
Super fees are not coming down like they were supposed to
The running costs of Australia’s biggest industry super funds have not gone down despite their promises that greater scale would drive down expenses.
- Hannah Wootton
Negative gearing to jump as rate rises bite
Higher interest rates will make the strategy more popular and increase tax deductions for 2.4 million landlords, who tend to be older and earn higher incomes.
- John Kehoe
- Opinion
- Letters to the Editor
What about employer rights to disconnect?
Readers’ letters on the right to disconnect; how a change to negative gearing could encourage rental supply, lessons from biosecurity and Nats on the NIMBY trail.
Aware Super poaches HESTA exec in leadership shakeup
The $160 billion fund’s new structure reflects the superannuation sector’s struggle to focus on retirement planning and customer experience.
- Hannah Wootton
The $40,000 tax whack coming for high earners
The top 5 per cent of taxpayers will pay nearly 42 per cent of all personal income tax next year, the equivalent of $128 billion.
- Joanna Mather, Lucy Dean and Duncan Hughes
