Taxing Wages 2004
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Taxing Wages 2004

Taxing Wages provides unique information on income tax paid and social security contributions levied on an average worker and their employers in OECD countries.  In addition, this annual publication specifies family benefits paid as cash transfers.  Amounts of taxes and benefits are detailed program by program, for eight household types which differ by income level and household composition.  For each country, a detailed description of the tax regime is provided.  This year's issue includes a Special feature entitled "Broadening the Definition of the Average Worker".

Publication Date :
09 Mar 2005
DOI :
10.1787/tax_wages-2004-en
 
Chapter
 

Australia (2004-2005 Income Tax Year) You do not have access to this content

Authors:
OECD
Pages :
109–123
DOI :
10.1787/tax_wages-2004-6-en

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This part of the publication provides the individual country details for 2004 that lie behind the comparative analysis. For each country, a table of detailed country results is followed by a description of the tax/benefit system. All thirty country tables in this part of the Report have a similar format. The left hand page of each table specifies the tax-benefit position of single persons in four cases, which differ by wage level and the presence of children (0/2). The right hand page of the table specifies the tax-benefit position of married couples, again discerning between four cases, which now differ by wage level, the presence of children (0/2) and one-/two-earner situations. All tables start with gross wage earnings (line 1) and derive taxable income for the personal income tax levied by central government (line 4), taking into account a number of standard tax allowances (line 2) and taxable cash transfers (line 3). Taxable income allows one to determine central government income tax paid (line 7); including reductions in the form of tax credits (line 6). Total payments to general government (line 10) also include state and local income taxes (line 8) and employees’ compulsory social security contributions (line 9). Take-home pay (line 12) is calculated as gross wage earnings less all payments to general government, plus universal cash transfers received from general government (line 11). Line 13 reports employers’ compulsory social security contributions (including payroll taxes). Average tax rates (line 14) are then calculated as:
- the share of income tax in gross wage earnings;
- the share of employees’ social security contributions in gross wage earnings;
- the share of income tax and employees’ social security contributions minus benefits in gross wage earnings; and
- the share of income tax and all social security contributions minus benefits in gross labour costs. Marginal tax rates (line 15) are calculated similarly as:
- the increase in income tax and employees’ contributions minus benefits as a share of the related increase in gross wage earnings (both for the principal earner and the spouse); and
- the increase in tax and all social security contributions minus benefits as a share of the related increase in gross labour costs (both for the principal earner and the spouse).