Taxation Notes

Reallocation of Resources and Types of Taxes

Agenda

  • Economic functions of the Australian Government.
  • Reallocation of resources:
    • Types of taxes: direct and indirect.
    • Types of expenses.
  • Redistribution of income:
    • Progressive, regressive, and proportional taxes.
    • Social welfare payments.
  • Stabilization of economic activity:
    • Brief overview of the stabilizing role of monetary and fiscal policies.
  • Government business enterprises.
  • Other policies:
    • Competition policies.
    • Environmental policies.

Learning Intentions

  • Determine what makes an effective tax.
  • Calculate the taxation revenue obtained by the government.
  • Distinguish between direct and indirect taxes.

Marking Criteria of a Tax

  • How to evaluate a tax: Governments need to know if their tax is fair when they are taking people's money, as it can be seen as morally/politically wrong to introduce a tax.
  • Adam Smith's criteria for evaluating if a tax is effective.

Equity

  • How the burden of taxation is distributed amongst taxpayers according to their ability to pay.
  • Vertical equity: Higher taxation for higher income earners.
    • High income earners should have a higher marginal rate of taxation (MRT).
  • Horizontal equity: Equal tax burden for taxpayers earning the same gross income.
  • Is the tax equitable?

Efficiency

  • Does the tax allow people to still invest, save, consume goods and services, and make products?
  • Does the tax actively change how people allocate financial resources?
  • If the tax changes how people allocate their finances by a sufficient amount, it is seen as an inefficient tax.

Simplicity

  • The public's understanding and certainty over future tax liability and the minimisation of tax compliance.
  • Reducing tax avoidance (minimising the tax one must pay, which is legal) and tax evasion (not paying taxes, which is illegal).
  • It needs to be simple & efficient.

Taxation Revenue

  • How much does the government take?
  • Taxation revenue=Tax Base∗Tax RateTaxation\ revenue = Tax\ Base * Tax\ Rate
    • Tax base: The amount which is being taxed (e.g., income).
    • Tax rate: The percentage needing to be taxed, outlined in the tax scheme.

Example: Income Tax

  • How much should I be taxed if I earn $92,000?
  • Taxation revenue=Tax Base∗Tax RateTaxation\ revenue = Tax\ Base * Tax\ Rate

Direct vs. Indirect Tax

  • Direct tax: A tax which is paid by the individuals/companies which are responsible for it; there is no way to pass this tax onto another person (e.g., income tax).
  • Indirect tax: Taxes imposed on one group of people (e.g., businesses) but are usually passed on partially or fully to the final customer.
    • Example: The Goods & Services Tax (GST), which is 10%, is passed on to the consumer. The business does not receive that 10% as profit, as it must go to the government as tax.