Interested in statistics?

Interested in tax statistics? We’ve got you covered.

As Accountants we’re renowned for liking numbers. So, what better way to feed our addiction than by looking at how us, as Australians pay tax. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has recently released the information for the 2018 financial showing the amount each level of government earns in taxes.

Taxation Revenue by Level of Government

A feature of the Australian federal system is that the Commonwealth Government levies and collects all income tax, from individuals as well as from enterprises. It also collects a portion of other taxes, including taxes on the provision of goods and services. The revenue base of state governments consists of taxes on property, on employers’ payroll, and on the provision and use of goods and services. The sole source of taxation revenue for local governments is taxes on property.

Total taxation revenue collected in Australia increased $41,797m (8.6%) from $486,790m in 2016-17 to $528,587m in 2017-18. This was driven by a $31,332m (11.1%) increase in taxes on income, profits and capital gains, and a $6,244m (4.6%) increase in taxes on provision of goods and services.

The table below compares taxes received by all levels of government

TOTAL TAXATION REVENUE, By Level of Government and Category

201213
201314
201415
201516
201617
201718
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m

COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT

Taxes on income, profits and capital gains
241 797
248 435
258 610
265 116
281 157
312 474
Taxes on employers’ payroll and labour force
             646
             844
             735
670
605
1 107
Taxes on property
– 
–  
–  
  –  
  –  
– 
Taxes on provision of goods and services
84 725
90 377
92 225
97 181
99 913
106 492
Taxes on use of goods and performance of activities
10 170
10 574
3 661
6 289
6 900
7 163
Total taxation revenue
337 338
350 230
          355 232
          369 257
          388 576
          427 237

STATE GOVERNMENT

Taxes on income, profits and capital gains
                          –  
                          – 
                          –  
                          – 
                          – 
                          – 
Taxes on employers’ payroll and labour force
20 786
21 366
22 041
             22 684
23 194
24 413
Taxes on property
7 779
8 733
9 283
             10 029
11 346
12 222
Taxes on provision of goods and services
25 406
28 296
31 625
34 416
35 373
35 038
Taxes on use of goods and performance of activities
9 745
10 103
10 817
11 524
11 875
12 588
Total taxation revenue
             63 715
68 498
73 766
78 653
81 787
84 261

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Taxes on income, profits and capital gains
  – 
– 
  – 
  – 
– 
–  
Taxes on employers’ payroll and labour force
  – 
–  
  – 
  – 
–  
–  
Taxes on property
14 027
14 870
15 779
16 620
17 399
18 122
Taxes on provision of goods and services
  –  
  – 
  – 
  – 
  –  
  –  
Taxes on use of goods and performance of activities
  – 
   – 
   – 
  – 
  – 
  – 
Total taxation revenue
14 027
14 870
15 779
16 620
17 399
18 122

ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT

Taxes on income, profits and capital gains
241 802
248 425
258 605
265 111
281 141
312 473
Taxes on employers’ payroll and labour force
20 763
21 508
22 032
22 590
23 003
24 680
Taxes on property
21 774
23 560
25 016
26 602
28 693
30 289
Taxes on provision of goods and services
110 131
118 673
123 850
131 596
135 286
141 530
Taxes on use of goods and performance of activities
19 838
20 590
14 413
17 737
18 666
19 616
Total taxation revenue
        414 308
432 757
          443 916
463 636
486 790
528 587

-(courtesy www.abs.gov.au)

 

Commonwealth Government taxation revenue increased $38,661m (9.9%) from $388,576m in 2016-17 to $427,237m in 2017-18. This was driven by a $31,317m (11.1%) increase in taxes on income, profits and capital gains, and a $6,579m (6.6%) increase in taxes on provision of goods and services. The following graph shows the level of taxation revenue for the three main sources of taxation revenue for the Commonwealth Government.

(courtesy www.abs.gov.au)

State government taxation revenue increased $2,474m (3.0%) from $81,787m in 2016-17 to $84,261m in 2017-18. This was driven by a $1,219m (5.3%) increase in taxes on employers’ payroll and labour force, and a $876m (7.7%) increase in taxes on property. The following graph shows the level of taxation revenue for state governments by source.

(courtesy www.abs.gov.au)

As the above graphs demonstrate, the amount of income generated by the various taxes across all levels of government has been progressively increasing over the years. There are many reasons why these levels have increased, not the least being the increase in the population.

Author


Kim Jay