Despite repeated claims by advocates of big government that Australia is a ‘low tax country,’ we are clearly over-taxed, and there is a compelling case for cutting government spending and reducing taxes. Taxation gobbles up almost one-third of all the new wealth generated each year in Australia, and while western European governments absorb even more than this, governments in the USA, Japan and our neighbouring trading partners in Asia take much less. Australian taxes impact particularly hard on successful individuals and companies. The proportion of total tax revenue that comes from taxes on company incomes is higher in Australia than in any other OECD country, and our top marginal rate of personal income tax is one of the highest in the western world (and is levied at one of the lowest income thresholds). The total federal tax take is at a record level, and outside of election periods, the trend is consistently upwards.
