@aussiebobaustin
I don't know what you are quoting. The US is under no obligation to make their tax laws conform to other countries. Under US tax law, all income is assumed to be taxable unless you can prove otherwise. In the case of overseas income, there is sometimes a tax treaty between two countries that modifies this general rule. (For example, I believe that for expats living in Germany, the US agrees not to tax German social security income and Germany agrees not to tax US social security income. But I may be remembering that incorrectly.)
And I don't think VITA is going to have much to say about overseas rules that affect a tiny percentage of US taxpayers.
If Wikipedia is to be believed, the employer mandatory contribution to a super is not considered taxable income at the time. That would make it the equivalent of an IRA or 401k--money is not taxed when it is contributed, so everything is taxed when it is withdrawn. I can't tell from the article whether additional employee voluntary contributions are made before or after taxes. If before tax, then the super really is like an IRA or pre-tax 401k. If employee voluntary contributions are after-tax, then that would give you a partial basis in the payout, and you would only pay tax on the gains, but under US law, the burden is on you to prove the amount.
However, there is another expert on this forum who knows the most about international tax issues, and I hope he or she stops by and adds their comments.
