AUSTRALIAN TAXPAYERS

Greymouth Evening Star, 31 December 1940, Page 2

AUSTRALIAN TAXPAYERS

THREE IN MILLIONAIRE CLASS SYDNEY, Dec. 19. On the world standard that a millionaire is a man whose'income exceeds £50,000 a year, Australia has three millionaires. These three men confessed to the Taxation Commissioner that their total income for the year was £lBl,000—an average of £60,300 each. The £50,000 income minimum is taken as the standard, because £50,000 capitalised at 5 per cent, is £1,000,000.

The Federal Taxation Commissioner, in his latest report, lumps the millionaires together among the residents of Australia earning more than £50,000. An income of £60,000 is £llOO a week or £26 an hour if the millionaire laboured for a normal working week of 44 hours to earn his money. On the other hand, the three millionaires contributed to Australia’s national Budget by paying £59,898 in Federal taxes—an average of nearly £4OO a week. The report also disclosed that there were 332,377 individual taxpayers who earned less than £50,000. Of these, the taxable incomie of 289,687 was less than £750 a year. There were 42,693 persons who earned more than £l4/10/- a week, and the £lOOO a year and upwards class numbered 26,676. There were 240 who earned more than £lO,OOO a year. The 199,482 persons with a taxable income of less than £2OO paid only 2 per cent, of the Federal income tax in 1938-39. Another 69,454 taxpayers with a taxable income of between £2OO and £5OO paid 3.6 per cent, of the total incorpe tax collected. The 27,525 persons earning more than £lOOO (residents and non-residents) paid 50.8 per cent, of the tax. The other 36.9 per cent, of the tax was paid by 12,301 companies. Particulars about tax paid by nonresidents of the .Commonwealth disclose that one man came to Australia and earned £21,000 by personal exertion and another £9OOO from property, and then, presumably, left the country again.