Amid tax reform discussions, the Commonwealth Bank has urged the government to cap superannuation concessions, boost consumption taxes and cut income tax.

In a submission to the Productivity Commission, the Commonwealth Bank has urged the government to engage in broad-based tax reform to reduce its reliance on income tax revenue and address structural deficits.

“Current levels of public spending growth are unsustainable without reform to our revenue model,” the submission read.

“Our tax base is too narrow and overly reliant on income tax receipts. Left unchanged, future generations will bear a growing tax burden in an ageing population with a growing dependency ratio.”

The submission warned that Australia’s ageing population and over-reliance on income tax would become unsustainable over time, if the government is to continue funding the public services that Australians expect.

“Australia needs to find a way to lower its dependence on income taxes. We believe it should be possible to achieve a revenue neutral but more sustainable tax mix through a package of measures,” the submission read.

The bank said that this tax reform should include consumption and wealth taxes to ensure distributional fairness and to incentivise productive activity across the economy.

It also suggested curbing tax concessions in “non-productive parts of the economy,” such as superannuation.

“Uncapped superannuation concessions appear to be unsustainable,” CBA wrote.

“We would support a superannuation cap, set at a level that encourages aspiration, and set well above the level where there is dependence on the state for support in retirement.”

It added that the 2009 Henry Review offered a comprehensive blueprint for tax reform in Australia and would be a sensible starting point for the government.

The Henry Review suggested a broad variety of reforms, including increasing the GST, introducing land taxes in place of stamp duty, lowering the company tax rate to 25 per cent and introducing a broad-based resource rent tax.

The Albanese government has said it would not rule out any tax reform proposals ahead of its August productivity roundtable, but has indicated it would not be supportive of GST reform.

“I'm a supporter of progressive taxation, consumption taxes by definition are regressive in their nature, so that's something that doesn't fit with the agenda,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Sky News in early July.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers reiterated this stance at a press conference on Monday.

“We’ve tried to have a relatively open mind, but you’ve all heard me talk about the GST before, and you all would have noticed what the Prime Minister said about the GST in the last few days, and those views haven’t changed,” he said.

Shadow finance minister James Paterson said he agreed with CBA’s assessment that Australia was over-reliant on income tax, but flagged he would prefer to rein in government spending rather than raise taxes.

“I do think that we are excessively reliant on income taxes. I think that puts a heavy burden on young working-age people who are trying to build wealth for themselves and their families, and internationally, Australia is much more reliant on income taxes than most other similar developed economies, and I think that is a problem,” he told Sky News on Tuesday.

“Before I entertain the prospect of increasing other taxes in order to pay for a reduced income tax, I should say that that's obviously not the only way to fund a reduction in tax. Fiscal restraint or spending restraints are the other way to do it.”

Paterson welcomed the CBA’s contribution to the tax reform discussion, but slammed their proposal of wealth taxes, which he said could lead to “envy-based public policy” and a “war on aspiration”.