INCOME TAX – AUSTRALIA

Top rate to swamp 1.2m taxpayers

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 6-Jul-17

Analysis of data from the Parliamentary Budget Office suggests that 7.3 per cent of Australians – or nearly 1.2 million people – will be paying the highest marginal tax rate in 2028, compared with just three per cent in 2015. The PBO data also shows that the Federal Government’s total income tax revenue will rise from about $A177bn in 2016 to $A378bn in 2028. The projections are based on expectations that Australia’s population will rise to 29.1 million over the next decade.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE, THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Wealthiest 3pc of earners pay 30pc of tax

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 19-Apr-17

Data from the Australian Taxation Office shows that the Federal Government collected $A177bn in income tax revenue in 2014-15. People in the highest tax bracket contributed $A53bn to government coffers, which equates to 30 per cent of the income tax take. People in this tax bracket account for just three per cent of taxpayers. The Government also reaped $A69.3bn in income tax from people in the second-highest tax bracket in 2014-15, which equates to 39.1 per cent of total tax revenue.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

It’s time to raise GST, says Proust

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 2-Feb-17

Australian Institute of Company Directors president Elizabeth Proust says the Federal Government should pursue comprehensive tax reform. She argues that this should include increasing the goods and services tax from 10 per cent to 15 per cent, and adds that reducing personal income tax rates should also be a higher priority than company tax cuts. The AICD released a position paper in 2016 which noted that the average GST rate among OECD countries is 19.2 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPANY DIRECTORS, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Company tax cuts ‘make bracket creep inevitable’

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 20-Sep-16

The Australian Government is committed to limiting overall tax revenue to 23.9 per cent of GDP. Its plan to progressively reduce the company tax rate over 10 years is intended to have no impact on overall tax revenue. As a result, the lower company tax revenue will have to be offset by higher revenue from other taxes. The Grattan Institute warns that this most likely will mean an increase in income tax revenue, which CEO John Daley notes is the only source of tax revenue that increases as a percentage of GDP.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Average Joes saved from bracket creep

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Original article by Fleur Anderson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: B5 : 4-May-16

The 37 per cent personal income tax rate threshold will be raised from $A80,000 to $A87,000. The new measure, announced by the Federal Government in the May 2016 Budget, will take effect on 1 July. Treasurer Scott Morrison said that 500,000 taxpayers will benefit from the "bracket-creep" tax cut.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Tax bracket creep to hit poorer half the hardest

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 6 : 30-Mar-16

Economic modelling suggests that by 2020 so-called "bracket creep" is likely to wipe out Australian households’ gains from a series of tax cuts since 2004. The Australian Nat­ional University’s modelling indicates that unless the Federal Government’s May 2016 Budget includes income tax cuts, Australians on the lowest incomes may face the largest increase in their tax burden in the next four years. Treasurer Scott Morrison has ruled out personal income tax cuts.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. CENTRE FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Top women closing gap on pay as earnings hit $580k

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 2 : 1-Mar-16

Data from the Australian Taxation Office shows that the three per cent of taxpayers in the highest marginal tax bracket accounted for nearly 30 per cent of the total income tax paid in fiscal 2014. Meanwhile, the average salary of male CEOs and directors rose by 10 per cent to $A667,000 during the financial year, while the average salary of their female counterparts increased by 20 per cent to $A580,000. Medical specialists and financial industry professionals were also among those with the highest incomes.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Ministers told: stop spending

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Original article by Dennis Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 17-Feb-16

Treasurer Scott Morrison will use a National Press Club speech on 17 February 2016 to stress the need to ensure that government spending does not exceed revenue. He will argue that increased taxation should not be used to lift revenue above expenditure, and caution against justifying new spending measures by offsetting them against savings achieved elsewhere. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has officially ruled out an increase in the GST but says action must be taken on the issue of income tax "bracket creep".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Soaring tax load hits workers

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Original article by Dennis Shanahan, Sid Maher
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 16-Feb-16

The Heritage Foundation forecasts that Australia’s tax-to-GDP ratio could potentially rise to 27.5 per cent by 2019. The think tank has warned that this ratio will reach 25.9 per cent unless the Federal Government pursues tax reforms or there is a significant increase in global economic growth. The May 2015 Budget had projected a rise in the tax-to-GDP ratio to just 23.2 per cent by 2019. It had peaked at 24.2 per cent in 2005-06. Treasurer Scott Morrison has signalled that income tax reform remains on the agenda.

CORPORATES
THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, IPSOS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, 2GB

Brakes on bracket creep to cost $12.5b

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 15-Feb-16

Modelling by the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) suggests that the cost of winding back "bracket creep" to the 2012-13 level would cost the Australian Government about $A12.5bn in 2017-18. This would rise to $A16.5bn in 2018-19. Andrew Potter of the CIS describes bracket creep as a "stealth tax" and argues that it should be included in any tax reform agenda.

CORPORATES
THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY