Labor’s trust tax overhaul is set to raise $40 billion, as businesses warn of accounting turmoil and the Greens warn of a school-fees loophole
The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the Brisbane Times and WA Today reported on Wednesday that Labor’s overhaul of how trusts are taxed is set to raise $40 billion, and that businesses warn of accounting turmoil. The Courier Mail said Treasurer Jim Chalmers faces fury over tax changes that could cost Australians $13.3 billion. The Guardian said changes to discretionary trusts are likely and set out why some Australians are upset. The ABC and the Herald reported the Greens’ claim that Labor’s tax bill contains a private school fees loophole. The headlines give no period for either dollar figure and no start date for the changes, and we did not see the bill itself.
Discretionary trusts hold a large amount of family and small-business wealth, so a change to their tax treatment reaches well beyond high earners. A revenue estimate of $40 billion would matter to the federal budget, while the competing $13.3 billion figure shows the argument about who bears the cost has already started. The loophole claim from the Greens suggests the bill may need amendments if it is to pass the Senate.
If your family business, farm or investments sit inside a discretionary trust, the change could alter your tax in future years, though we do not yet know the start date or the exact rules. It is worth asking your accountant what they expect, rather than acting on a headline.
Trusts have let some wealthy families lower their tax bills in a way ordinary wage earners cannot, so tightening the rules is overdue and the revenue is well used.
Many trusts are ordinary family businesses and farms, and sudden changes bring compliance costs and uncertainty; the $13.3 billion figure shows who may be hit.
Two different numbers and two different framings are not a contradiction yet, but they will become one if the government cannot say what each measures. Watch for the legislation’s start date, any carve-out for farms and small businesses, and whether the Greens’ school-fees amendment is accepted as the price of Senate support.
DailyDrop Australia edition No. 11 · Morning · THU., OCT. 15, 2026