The Liberals’ Brendan Smyth has swooped on new ABS stats like a seagull upon a chip to show we really are highly taxed:
Canberrans pay more in tax than anywhere else in the country, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data released today. ACT Shadow Treasurer Brendan Smyth said this is a shocking burden placed on Canberrans by the highest taxing government in Territory history.
The ACT also recorded the greatest increase in taxation in the country, rising a whopping eight per cent for the 2010-11 financial year, against a national average increase of five per cent.
“Since ACT Labor was elected in 2001, the ACT’s taxes have increased by 90 per cent per capita,” Mr Smyth said today.
“Today’s figures show that based on local and state taxes, the ACT’s taxation per capita rose eight per cent in 2010-11 to $3,437 – the highest in the country. We are now taxed around 10 per cent higher than the national average.
The rest of the country, with its lower average incomes, might be hoping this is indeed the case.
But seriously, if we insist on replicating a State bureaucracy and parliament for a city of 300,000 what do we expect?
UPDATE 18/04/12 08:58: Andrew Barr has tweeted us to point out this year’s numbers include Rupert Murdoch’s back taxes:
@The_RiotACT The ABS data includes this large tax transaction: http://t.co/qlvlh4cx
Smyth conveniently fails to mention that.
— Andrew Barr MLA (@ABarrMLA) April 17, 2012