ATO data reveals that 60 millionaires paid no tax in 2019-20; everyday Aussies still are the biggest source of tax revenue
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The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) recently released the latest taxation statistics, and people on Reddit were not happy.
The data summarised by ABC was posted on the social news website, with many users sharing their thoughts on the ATO’s survey.
The statistics were based on the tax returns of 15 million Aussies for the financial year 2019-20. The survey–that was analysed by the Australia Institute–revealed that 60 individuals with an income of more than $1 million did not pay any income tax. They earned $3.5 million on average.
These high earners were able to cut their taxes by claiming deductions for tax management and litigation costs, donations, interest, and dividends. The Age previously detailed how millionaires can do away with taxes.
The average claim for each millionaire is $250,000 - not a measly sum. The deductions totalled $165.3 million for all 60 individuals.
Interviewed by ABC, senior economist Matt Grudnoff from the Australia Institute said: ‘Our taxation system is full of complexity, and the latest tax statistics show that some people on very large incomes can pay very smart people very large sums of money to take advantage of that complexity to reduce the amount of tax they have to pay.’
He also emphasised the need for something similar to a Buffett rule in the country. With one in place, there would be a minimum tax rate for people earning over $1 million. This would also prevent millionaires and billionaires from claiming deductions to avoid tax and paying less than the middle and working class.
The Buffett rule was named after Warren Buffet, who infamously said he was paying lower taxes than his secretary. This is common, unfortunately, even in Australia.
Greens Treasury spokesperson Senator Nick McKim added to the conversation: ‘The fact that 60 people who earned over $1 million managed to pay not a cent in tax clearly demonstrates that Labor should abandon the upcoming Stage 3 tax cuts. Labor should be making high-income earners pay their fair share rather than giving them another tax cut.’
One tax-paying Redditor commented: ‘Taxes are the price you pay to live in a civil society. I’m older, and now find myself in the top tax bracket, and you know what? I don’t mind paying the tax because that’s how it has to be. These cheating f****** deserve to be up against the wall.’
Another Aussie agreed: ‘I'm with you. I'm earning and happily willing to pay my share of taxation. Yes, I don't like that I have to pay this much tax, but given the events of the last two years and what I recognise and know that taxation goes to helping those who, with no fault of their own, lose their jobs and need a safety net, this stuff I'm happy to fork out for.
‘What I don't like is my taxation has components within it going towards the subsidising of companies that loophole themselves up the f****** w***** to pay no tax when they're making billions ripping stuff out of the ground that rightfully should be shared by all Australians because it's part of our land.’
Data from ATO also showed that everyday Aussies are the biggest source of tax revenue at 53%. Aussies paid an average of $11,330 in income tax.
Mining is an important industry in Australia, a significant exporter of lithium, gold, and iron ore. Credit: xusenru
Meanwhile, companies only contributed 21% of the tax revenue. Of the mining companies operating in Australia, only 32% paid income taxes.
‘With the mining industry largely foreign-owned and employing relatively small numbers of workers, tax is one of the few benefits the industry could provide to the rest of Australia,’ Mr Grudnoff said, ‘But the taxation statistics show that many mining companies continue to pay no tax. It is high time the government targets this industry for tax reform to ensure it started to pay its fair share of tax.’
One Reddit user asked: ‘So if the mines aren't paying tax, but the politicians are pushing their importance, what are they/we getting in return?’
Others replied with ‘overpriced energy’, ‘political donations’, and ‘climate destruction’, all unfavourable to the ordinary Aussie.
Someone chimed in: ‘Australia gets to be a “rich nation” when, in fact, it is making others rich, not the people who live in it and who apparently “own” these resources.‘
‘It's like we just let them steal our non-renewable resources,’ another Redditor said.
The super-rich are not oblivious to how they can work their way around tax systems. In fact, select global millionaires and billionaires have called on governments to tax them, a response that would have been appropriate during the pandemic, they said.
Through an open letter, a group consisting of 102 millionaires and billionaires (including Abigail Disney of the Disney fortune) said: ‘As millionaires, we know that the current tax system is unfair. Most of us can say that, while the world has gone through an immense amount of suffering in the last two years, we have actually seen our wealth rise during the pandemic - yet few if any of us can honestly say that we pay our fair share in taxes.’
They also said that governments could restore the people’s trust by taxing the rich. The letter emphasised the importance of a fair tax system in a strong democracy.
What do you think, members? Were you taxed heavily in the past year? Is Australia in need of extensive tax reform? Let us know in the comments below.
The data summarised by ABC was posted on the social news website, with many users sharing their thoughts on the ATO’s survey.
The statistics were based on the tax returns of 15 million Aussies for the financial year 2019-20. The survey–that was analysed by the Australia Institute–revealed that 60 individuals with an income of more than $1 million did not pay any income tax. They earned $3.5 million on average.
These high earners were able to cut their taxes by claiming deductions for tax management and litigation costs, donations, interest, and dividends. The Age previously detailed how millionaires can do away with taxes.
The average claim for each millionaire is $250,000 - not a measly sum. The deductions totalled $165.3 million for all 60 individuals.
Interviewed by ABC, senior economist Matt Grudnoff from the Australia Institute said: ‘Our taxation system is full of complexity, and the latest tax statistics show that some people on very large incomes can pay very smart people very large sums of money to take advantage of that complexity to reduce the amount of tax they have to pay.’
He also emphasised the need for something similar to a Buffett rule in the country. With one in place, there would be a minimum tax rate for people earning over $1 million. This would also prevent millionaires and billionaires from claiming deductions to avoid tax and paying less than the middle and working class.
The Buffett rule was named after Warren Buffet, who infamously said he was paying lower taxes than his secretary. This is common, unfortunately, even in Australia.
Greens Treasury spokesperson Senator Nick McKim added to the conversation: ‘The fact that 60 people who earned over $1 million managed to pay not a cent in tax clearly demonstrates that Labor should abandon the upcoming Stage 3 tax cuts. Labor should be making high-income earners pay their fair share rather than giving them another tax cut.’
One tax-paying Redditor commented: ‘Taxes are the price you pay to live in a civil society. I’m older, and now find myself in the top tax bracket, and you know what? I don’t mind paying the tax because that’s how it has to be. These cheating f****** deserve to be up against the wall.’
Another Aussie agreed: ‘I'm with you. I'm earning and happily willing to pay my share of taxation. Yes, I don't like that I have to pay this much tax, but given the events of the last two years and what I recognise and know that taxation goes to helping those who, with no fault of their own, lose their jobs and need a safety net, this stuff I'm happy to fork out for.
‘What I don't like is my taxation has components within it going towards the subsidising of companies that loophole themselves up the f****** w***** to pay no tax when they're making billions ripping stuff out of the ground that rightfully should be shared by all Australians because it's part of our land.’
Data from ATO also showed that everyday Aussies are the biggest source of tax revenue at 53%. Aussies paid an average of $11,330 in income tax.
Mining is an important industry in Australia, a significant exporter of lithium, gold, and iron ore. Credit: xusenru
Meanwhile, companies only contributed 21% of the tax revenue. Of the mining companies operating in Australia, only 32% paid income taxes.
‘With the mining industry largely foreign-owned and employing relatively small numbers of workers, tax is one of the few benefits the industry could provide to the rest of Australia,’ Mr Grudnoff said, ‘But the taxation statistics show that many mining companies continue to pay no tax. It is high time the government targets this industry for tax reform to ensure it started to pay its fair share of tax.’
One Reddit user asked: ‘So if the mines aren't paying tax, but the politicians are pushing their importance, what are they/we getting in return?’
Others replied with ‘overpriced energy’, ‘political donations’, and ‘climate destruction’, all unfavourable to the ordinary Aussie.
Someone chimed in: ‘Australia gets to be a “rich nation” when, in fact, it is making others rich, not the people who live in it and who apparently “own” these resources.‘
‘It's like we just let them steal our non-renewable resources,’ another Redditor said.
The super-rich are not oblivious to how they can work their way around tax systems. In fact, select global millionaires and billionaires have called on governments to tax them, a response that would have been appropriate during the pandemic, they said.
Through an open letter, a group consisting of 102 millionaires and billionaires (including Abigail Disney of the Disney fortune) said: ‘As millionaires, we know that the current tax system is unfair. Most of us can say that, while the world has gone through an immense amount of suffering in the last two years, we have actually seen our wealth rise during the pandemic - yet few if any of us can honestly say that we pay our fair share in taxes.’
They also said that governments could restore the people’s trust by taxing the rich. The letter emphasised the importance of a fair tax system in a strong democracy.
What do you think, members? Were you taxed heavily in the past year? Is Australia in need of extensive tax reform? Let us know in the comments below.
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