Treasury on Thur 31.1.2013, released the Tax Expenditures Statement 2012, dated January 2013
The Tax Expenditures Statement provides details of concessions, benefits and incentives delivered to taxpayers through the tax system. These are referred to as “tax expenditures”. The Statement lists 363 tax expenditures and, where possible, provides an estimate of the pecuniary value or order of magnitude of the benefit to taxpayers over an 8-year period, from 2008-09 to 2015-16. Highlights from the Statement include:
- Treasury estimates that total tax expenditures are around $111bn in 2011-12, or around 7.6% of GDP. This has decreased from $115bn in 2010-11 (around 8.2% of GDP).
- The largest tax expenditures are for superannuation and owner-occupied housing, followed by tax concessions related to GST. Treasury estimates that the “concessional” taxation of superannuation entity earnings and also employer contributions will cost about $33.2bn in revenue forgone in 2013-14, increasing to $42.4bn in 2015-16.
[LTN 20, 31/1/13]