Cormann coy on super crackdown

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann was careful with his words as he responded to reports the May 3 budget will include a crackdown on high-income superannuation tax concessions.

"There is always a lot of pre-budget speculation," he told ABC TV of reports the government will cut the income threshold for more heavily-taxed contributions from $300,000 to $180,000.

The measure, that could raise $2 billion a year in net revenue, would trump Labor's plan to reduce the threshold to $250,000.

Labor frontbencher Richard Marles says work has to be done to improve the budget bottom line by reducing the tax concession on wealthy superannuants.

However, he was surprised by the government's apparent backflip having said there was no need to do anything in this area when Labor announced its policy last year.

"The only thing you can be certain of is where we lead, they follow," he told Sky News.