Charles Gutjahr

Melbourne, Australia

It is fair to take away dividend imputation refunds

9 Feb 2019 — a 1 minute read on opinion

Labor are right to stop people who don't pay tax from getting cash refunds on dividends.

There is a small but loud constituency claiming that it's unfair to take that away, however I think that it's self-evident it would actually be more fair. The money mostly goes to people with self-managed super funds, who are people with plenty of money. People who have struggled to get by all their life do not have a self-managed super fund.

That's not to say taking away this benefit wouldn't hurt some retirees. It would. It's just that others are surely hurting more. Instead of giving money to the (relatively) rich via dividend imputation refunds, we could give it to poorer Australians who need it more. That what I think is fair.

© 2023 Charles Gutjahr