"I don’t have any other form of income, I don’t have an age pension, my assets are above the threshold." Another self-funded retiree, Tom Arrowsmith, pointed out that many people had been forced to invest heavily in shares because of the poor returns elsewhere. And this would only make the impact of the policy worse. Because of exceptionally low interest rates we have all been forced to put more into shares just to generate any sort of an income. Tom Arrowsmith "Because of exceptionally low interest rates, we have all been forced to put more into shares just to generate any sort of an income," he told the inquiry. The loss of the refundable franking credits will cost him more than $10,000 a year. "That's going to make a big hole in our income, and I’m afraid we will probably have to put it into more risky things to try and make up [the difference].”

Roderick Dougall questioned why anyone would save carefully to fund their own retirement, like he did, rather than rely on the pension. Loading "I didn’t go to Europe, I don’t drive a BMW, and I live in a modest home - in other words I didn’t waste it," he said. "Now we’re in a position where to get down to the limit, all I have to do is invest in my home a couple of hundred grand, go on a few holidays, and then I’ll be on the pension. Now how can that possibly make any sense to anybody but Labor politicians?” The strong turnout at the inquiry was part of a day of protest in Sydney, which saw hundreds of investors attend a briefing organised by Wilson Asset Management and its founder, Geoff Wilson, who has been a strident critic of Labor's proposal.

"We want to send a clear message ... that this is unfair," Mr Wilson told investors. "To me this was knee-jerk policy, illogical and grossly unfair." He compared Labor's plan to save $5 billion in franking credit refunds to its efforts with the mining tax mining tax, which collected only a fraction of the money expected. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video "The $5 billion they've talked about from this will disappear, people will change their behaviour," Mr Wilson said after the meeting. His comments reflected those of the Australian Investors Association (AIA), whose representative told the inquiry that "the franking credits won't evaporate, and the billions of savings won't materialise".

He said self-funded retirees would sell these investments to investors who would still be able to take advantage of the franking credits. The Parliamentary Budget Office has costed Labor's promise and stated it accounted for changed behaviour. The Labor members of the Standing Committee on Economics, which is conducting the inquiry, hit out at what they see as a partisan attack on opposition policy. Investors at the Wilson Asset Management event protesting against Labor's policy. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer "Labor is cracking down on this unsustainable tax loophole because it will soon cost the budget $8 billion a year, and mainly benefits millionaires who don’t pay income tax.

"Most working Australians do not receive cash refunds for excess franking credits," said MPs Matt Thistlethwaite and Matt Keogh in a joint statement on Tuesday. "Self-managed super funds (SMSFs) with a balance over $2.44 million claim nearly 53 per cent of all excess franking credits."