Committee submissions close on 29 October
Family Business Association is pressing a Senate committee to release economic modelling for the government’s minimum tax on discretionary trusts after the bills were referred for inquiry on 15 October 2026.
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 3) Bill 2026 and its companion rates bill are before the Senate Economics Legislation Committee. Submissions are due on 29 October, and hearings are scheduled for 5 and 6 November.
The association welcomed the inquiry. It also called for the committee to publish the regulatory impact and consult families of all sizes that would be affected by the tax.
Catherine Sayer, chief executive officer of Family Business Association, said the process would put the proposed system under public scrutiny for the first time.
“Since May we have asked the government to show us the modelling. Two rounds of Treasury consultation have come and gone without it, and the Senate is now being asked to vote on a $4.5 billion tax on figures nobody outside Treasury has seen,” Sayer said.
Sayer also argued that the timetable is too tight. In her view, two weeks is too short to assess a measure of this size. She said the issue should be examined carefully because of its long-term effects on the economy and community.
Trust rules and succession concerns
Another concern raised by Sayer was succession. She said the committee’s first question should be what the sector looks like once the current generation of owners has handed over.
“This is not a tax on this year’s profit. It decides whether the next generation takes the business on or sells it. That question has not been asked, let alone modelled. We do not want to look back in 10 years’ time and wonder what has happened to all the family businesses in Australia.”
Sayer said the bill also fails families already operating a business through a trust. She said the 30% figure is a floor, not a rate.
Under her description of the measure, the election would lock a family’s distribution split for life. She said it also could not be used to retain profit in the business for a new truck or a new press brake.
In addition, Sayer said no trust formed after 1 July 2028 would be able to elect at all. She added that any restructure path depends on stamp duty relief that states have not clearly confirmed.
Sayer said those changes would come on top of higher operating costs, productivity challenges, rising compliance costs, the recent card surcharge ban and the expense of restructuring. She said small and family businesses face “death by a thousand cuts” and noted that these businesses employ half the Australian workforce.
Family Business Association plans to lodge its submission by 29 October and wants to appear before the committee.
