A former Liberal MP is leading a grassroots campaigning group targeting marginal Labor seats at the next election over Anthony Albanese’s plans to increase taxes on superannuation balances with more than $3m.

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Julian Simmonds, who lost his Brisbane seat of Ryan at the last election to Greens MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown, has launched Australians for Prosperity (A4P) and will campaign against the Prime Minister’s superannuation tax hike in the marginal Labor seats of Tangney, Chisholm, Higgins and Adelaide.

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The group will also focus its “no family savings tax” campaign in the teal-held seats of ­Wentworth, Warringah and Goldstein, with an aim on replicating the groundswell of opposition to Bill Shorten’s proposed crackdown on franking credits ahead of the 2019 election. “A family savings tax on unrealised capital gains would be a disaster for aspiration, incentives to save, and the future prosperity of Australia,” he said.

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“Australians work hard to save for retirement and their families. When the government threatens those savings, they push back. In 2019, Australians rejected Labor’s attack on self- funded retirees and their savings. Now they face an even bigger threat on their hard-earned family savings. That’s why we’ve launched A4P.”

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Ahead of the 2023 budget, Jim Chalmers unveiled a plan to tax unrealised gains of superannuation balances worth over $3m, doubling the total tax rate for those accounts to about 30 per cent. One of the most controversial aspects of the policy is that it is not indexed, meaning a higher proportion of people will be captured over time.

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The Coalition is opposed, while the Greens are demanding the threshold be dropped to $2m.

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Mr Simmonds said the A4P would draw on a donor network to build a “modern campaign infrastructure to reclaim the narrative, empower Australians, and fight for a more prosperous ­future”. “For too long, the political agenda has been dominated by those pushing for more regulation, taxation and greater government,” he said. “A4P stands against these activist-driven policies that jeopardise our future.”

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Meanwhile, a convoy of farmers will descend on Canberra tomorrow to rally against the Albanese government’s policies.

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Peter Dutton and Nationals leader David Littleproud will address the farmers, who claim Labor has an “anti-farming ideology”. “They are fed up with being constantly attacked by Labor, from water buybacks to reckless renewables and the senseless phase out of the live sheep export trade,” Mr Littleproud said.

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Source: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/super-threat-sparks-election-fightback/news-story/17b1cc422f649fa4bc2f368ee2adaa0https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/super-threat-sparks-election-fightback/news-story/17b1cc422f649fa4bc2f368ee2adaa0e