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ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION

This publication contains statistics of taxation revenue collected by all levels of government in Australia for the period 1998-99 to 2002-03. The taxation revenue statistics presented in this publication are for the general government sector and include taxes received from public corporations (i.e. government owned/controlled corporations). The amount of taxes received from these corporations are provided in the relevant tables.

The Public Finance Section of the ABS is currently reviewing the content and layout of this publication and two related publications Government Finance Statistics, Australia (ABS Cat. no. 5512.0) and Education Statistics (ABS Cat. no. 5518.0.55.001) and welcomes feedback from users. Comments can be provided to Jonathan Sim, Assistant Director, Public Finance Section on (02) 6252 5735 or via email <jonathan.sim@abs.gov.au>.

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

From 2001-02, withholding taxes on non-residents are no longer separately identifiable under the PAYG system. The values shown for 2001-02 and subsequent years are estimates based on methodologies developed by the Balance of Payments area within the ABS.

TERMINOLOGY

Wherever the term 'state' is used, this term includes the two territories. Therefore, 'state and local' refers to 'state, territory and local' and 'state' refers to 'state and territory'.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

TOTAL TAXATION REVENUE

Summary

A distinctive 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' payrolls, 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 rose $20,532 million (9.5%) between 2001-02 and 2002-03. A $12,246 million (10.3%) increase in taxes on income and a $5,933 million (9.8%) increase in taxes on provision of goods and services were the main contributors to the rise.

TOTAL TAXATION REVENUE
	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03
	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m
COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT
Taxes on income	102,309	114,520	120,861	119,032	131,278
Employers payroll taxes	3,322	3,521	3,577	3,831	3,085
Taxes on property	5	10	12	12	13
Taxes on provision of goods and services	33,203	34,085	49,905	53,654	59,194
Taxes on use of goods and performance of activities	538	439	655	708	743
Total taxation revenue	139,378	152,576	175,010	177,237	194,313
STATE GOVERNMENTS
Taxes on income	-	-	-	-	-
Employers payroll taxes	8,448	8,954	9,501	9,675	10,157
Taxes on property	10,715	12,086	12,413	12,433	14,166
Taxes on provision of goods and services	6,172	6,576	5,987	6,584	6,978
Taxes on use of goods and performance of activities	10,034	10,208	4,704	4,607	5,021
Total taxation revenue	35,370	37,825	32,605	33,299	36,322
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Taxes on income	-	-	-	-	-
Employers payroll taxes	-	-	-	-	-
Taxes on property	5,733	6,026	6,403	6,748	7,201
Taxes on provision of goods and services	-	-	-	-	-
Taxes on use of goods and performance of activities	-	-	-	-	-
Total taxation revenue	5,733	6,026	6,403	6,748	7,201
ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT
Taxes on income	102,309	114,520	120,861	119,032	131,278
Employers payroll taxes	11,380	12,201	12,809	13,175	12,894
Taxes on property	16,445	18,114	18,820	19,185	21,372
Taxes on provision of goods and services	39,375	40,661	55,893	60,238	66,171
Taxes on use of goods and performance of activities	10,572	10,646	5,359	5,314	5,761
Total taxation revenue	180,081	196,142	213,741	216,945	237,477
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

Taxes on income totalled $131,278 million in 2002-03 and comprised 55.3% of total taxation revenue for all levels of government. Taxes on provision of goods and services, including goods and services tax (GST), totalled $66,171 million in 2002-03 and comprised 27.9% of total taxation revenue for all levels of government.

Commonwealth Government Taxation Revenue

Commonwealth government taxation revenue, including taxes from other levels of government and Commonwealth public corporations, rose 9.6% from $177,237 million in 2001-02 to $194,313 million in 2002-03. In 2002-03 Commonwealth taxation represented 81.8% of taxation revenue for all levels of government. The following graph shows the changing proportions of different taxation revenue categories to total taxation revenue for the Commonwealth government since the introduction of accrual accounting in ABS statistics in 1998-99. In ABS government finance statistics (GFS) and taxation revenue statistics, GST is recorded as a Commonwealth government tax.

State Government Taxation Revenue

State government taxation revenue (excluding GST revenue - which is recorded in GFS as a grant from the Commonwealth to the states - but including taxes from other levels of government and on public corporations) increased 9.1% from $33,299 million in 2001-02 to $36,322 million in 2002-03. Taxes on property was the single largest taxation revenue source (39.0%) for state governments in 2002-03, followed by employers payroll taxes (28.0%). The following graph shows the changing proportions of the different taxation revenue categories to total taxation revenue for the state governments since the introduction of accrual accounting in ABS statistics in 1998-99.

Local government taxation revenue increased 6.7% from $6,748 million in 2001-02 to $7,201 million in 2002-03. Taxes on property are the sole source of taxation revenue for local governments.

MAJOR COMPONENTS OF TOTAL TAXATION

Income taxes levied on individuals in 2002-03 totalled $91,484 million while those on enterprises totalled $38,696 million. This represented 38.5% and 16.3% of total taxation revenue for all levels of government respectively.

GST revenue was $31,257 million in 2002-03 and represented 13.2% of total taxation revenue for all levels of government. Excises and levies totalled $21,471 million and represented a further 9.0% of total taxation revenue.

MAJOR COMPONENTS OF TOTAL TAXATION
			1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	Change from 2001-02 to 2002-03	Contribution to total taxes 2002-03
			$m	$m	$m	$m	$m	%	%
Taxes on income
	Income taxes levied on individuals		75,553	83,788	77,425	86,112	91,484	6.2	38.5
	Income taxes levied on enterprises(a)		25,677	29,516	42,221	31,782	38,696	21.8	16.3
	Income taxes levied on non-residents(b)		1,079	1,215	1,215	1,138	1,098	-3.5	0.5
Employers payroll taxes
	General taxes (payroll tax)		8,229	8,734	9,272	9,415	9,874	4.9	4.2
	Selective payroll taxes (stevedoring industry charges)		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Other employers labour force taxes		3,151	3,467	3,537	3,760	3,020	-19.7	1.3
Taxes on property
	Taxes on immovable property		8,052	8,447	9,070	9,502	10,371	9.1	4.4
	Taxes on financial and capital transactions		8,393	9,667	9,750	9,684	11,001	13.6	4.6
Taxes on provision of goods and services
	General taxes (sales tax)		15,215	15,644	1,976	791	896	13.3	0.4
	Goods and services tax (GST)		-	-	23,854	27,389	31,257	14.1	13.2
	Excises and levies
		Crude oil and LPG	10,903	11,447	12,447	12,793	13,662	6.8	5.8
		Other excises	2,680	2,644	6,572	6,837	7,125	4.2	3.0
		Agricultural production taxes	791	551	453	553	589	6.5	0.2
		Levies on statutory corporations	17	18	14	82	95	15.9	-
	Taxes on international trade		3,615	3,799	4,606	5,214	5,573	6.9	2.3
	Taxes on gambling		4,146	4,420	3,568	3,707	3,843	3.7	1.6
	Taxes on insurance		2,009	2,139	2,403	2,872	3,132	9.1	1.3
Taxes on the use of goods and performance of activities			-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Motor vehicle taxes		3,921	3,911	4,033	4,291	4,690	9.3	2.0
	Franchise taxes		5,688	5,819	325	13	10	-23.1	-
	Other		963	915	1,001	1,010	1,061	5.0	0.4
Total			180,081	196,142	213,741	216,945	237,477	9.5	100.0
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Amounts collected under petroleum resource rent taxes are included in income taxes levied on enterprises.
(b) From 2001-02, withholding taxes on non-residents are no longer separately identifiable under the PAYG system. The values shown for 2001-02 and subsequent years are estimates based on methodologies developed by the Balance of Payments area within the ABS.

The amount of taxation revenue collected in a particular year can be affected by a number of factors, including:

• a change in the rate of a tax or levy;
• the introduction or abolition of a tax or levy;
• one-off special payments;
• additional or fewer collection periods during the financial year;
• changes to payment arrangements; and
• other factors such as economic conditions, population growth, etc.

COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT

Taxes on Income

• Income taxes levied on individuals rose by almost $5.4 billion or 6.2%. This was largely due to a $4.8 billion increase in gross income tax withholding.
• Company income tax rose $6.6 billion or 23.3%. This was predominantly due to higher company profitability.
• Income tax paid by superannuation funds increased by $276 million or 8.3%.
• Prescribed payments continued to decline following its replacement with the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) withholding system from 1 July 2000.

• Other employer labour force taxes fell $746 million or 19.5%, reflecting a strong fall in fringe benefits tax (FBT) revenue offset to some extent by an increase in the superannuation guarantee levy charge. The fall in FBT revenue relative to 2001-02 is primarily due to a revised treatment of receivables relating to employee benefit arrangements.

• Goods and services tax revenue rose almost $3.9 billion or 14.1%.
• Revenue from excises rose $1,157 million or 5.9% from 2001-02 to 2002-03.
• General taxes on provision of goods and services (other than GST revenue) increased by $105 million or 13.3% partly reflecting an increase in luxury car tax.
• Levies on statutory corporations, reflecting universal services levies on communications carriers, increased by $15 million or 18.8%.
• Taxes on international trade increased by $359 million or 6.9%.

Taxes on Employers Payroll and Labour Force

• The taxes on employers payroll and labour force increased in 2002-03 by $482 million or 5.0%. Employers payroll taxes increased across all states with the exception of the Northern Territory where they fell $2 million. The largest increase occurred in Queensland where an increase of $132 million or 11.0% was recorded.

• Taxes on property increased across all states, with 85.7% of the $1,733 million increase being due to an increase in stamp duty on conveyances, which increased across all states.
• Stamp duty on conveyances increased by $1,486 million and accounted for almost half of the $3,023 million increase in total state taxation revenue between 2001-02 and 2002-03.
• Land taxes increased by $381 million or 17.5%.
• Financial institutions transactions taxes decreased by $323 million or 33.2% with decreases experienced in almost all states.

• Taxes on the provision of goods and services increased by $394 million or 6.0%.
• Taxes on gambling increased by $136 million with taxes on private lotteries, taxes on government lotteries, and taxes on gambling machines generally increasing in all states. However, in Victoria, taxes on gambling machines fell by $77 million.
• Taxes on insurance rose $260 million or 9.1%.

• Taxes on use of goods and performance of activities increased across all states. The $414 million or 9.0% increase was almost entirely due to an increase in motor vehicle taxes, which rose $402 million.

Total taxation revenue as a percentage of GDP increased from 30.4% in 2001-02 to 31.5% in 2002-03. Taxation revenue for the Commonwealth Government as a percentage of GDP increased from 24.8% in 2001-02 to 25.8% in 2002-03, while total taxation revenue from state and local governments rose from 5.6% of GDP in 2001-02 to 5.8% in 2002-03.

On average, Australian residents each paid $12,018 in tax in 2002-03, up 8.2% on the previous year.

The Commonwealth Government taxation per capita rose 8.4% from $9,075 in 2001-02 to $9,834 in 2002-03.

State and territory governments and local councils charged residents an average of $2,202 a year in property taxes, stamp duty, gambling taxes, payroll and other taxes in 2002-03. This was up from $2,050 in 2001-02, but still less than the $2,302 charged in the 1999-2000 financial year immediately prior to the introduction of GST.

New South Wales taxation per capita was $2,477 in 2002-03 compared to $2,341 in 2001-02, while taxation per capita in the Northern Territory was $1,493 in 2002-03 compared to $1,393 in 2001-02.

Taxation per capita increased in all states and territories between 2001-02 and 2002-03. The state with the largest percentage increase in taxation per capita between 2001-02 and 2002-03 was the ACT with 17.5%. This rise however followed two consecutive years of decline.

Taxation per capita in Queensland in 2002-03 was $1,867 up from $1,683 in 2001-02. Queensland is the only state whose taxation per capita is now higher than it was in 1999-2000.

The amount of taxation per head of resident population, by jurisdiction, is shown in the table below.

TAXATION PER CAPITA
		1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03
Level of government		$	$	$	$	$
State and local
	New South Wales	2,530	2,678	2,376	2,341	2,477
	Victoria	2,256	2,365	2,108	2,153	2,267
	Queensland	1,685	1,763	1,533	1,683	1,867
	South Australia	1,952	2,144	1,818	1,836	2,010
	Western Australia	2,098	2,174	1,886	1,909	2,136
	Tasmania	1,711	1,781	1,508	1,476	1,557
	Northern Territory	1,986	2,014	1,308	1,393	1,493
	Australian Capital Territory	2,014	2,199	2,015	1,807	2,123
	Average	2,183	2,302	2,022	2,050	2,202
Commonwealth		7,406	8,013	9,076	9,075	9,834
All levels of government		9,569	10,300	11,085	11,108	12,018