Australian Super Funds Get Relief as US Scraps Tax

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There’s some good news for Australians with money in the US — a proposed 15% “revenge tax” that could have hit Aussie investors hard is officially off the table.

The tax was part of a plan pushed by the Trump administration to penalise countries that tax American tech giants like Google, Meta, and Amazon. But after some last-minute lobbying, Australia’s managed to secure an exemption.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he’ll recommend scrapping the tax from what he called Mr Trump’s “big, beautiful bill”, following talks with Australian officials.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who personally met with Bessent earlier this week, welcomed the decision.

“This is a really welcome outcome for Australians,” Chalmers said.

“I was able to raise our concerns directly, and I want to thank the Treasury Secretary for taking them seriously. We’re very pleased to see real progress on this.”

While Australia wasn’t the main target of the tax — it was mostly aimed at European countries with strict digital service taxes — there were worries that our own proposed laws on social media platforms could have triggered it.

That proposal would require tech companies to pay for news content or face penalties, which US trade officials labelled as “discriminatory” during recent G7 talks.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer even raised the issue with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the summit.

Had the tax gone ahead, it could’ve been a big blow to Australian investors in the US, particularly superannuation funds, which have billions tied up in American assets.

“We don’t want our investors or funds to be unfairly treated,” Chalmers said earlier this week, warning of the potential fallout.

But now, with the exemption in place, Aussie investors can breathe a sigh of relief — at least for now.

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