8th Per Capita Tax Survey
- Australians want to see more spending on social security
- More believe they are paying too much tax
- Support for company tax cuts weak
- Tax and transfer system increasingly unfair
Per Capita is proud to release its 2018 Tax Survey, now in its eighth year.
We all pay tax, but this is the only comprehensive, regular survey of Australians’ attitudes to taxation and public spending. It provides information about how we’re thinking now, and how our attitudes to tax and public spending are changing and evolving.
As in previous years, the findings of the survey contain surprises and insights. This year, the most striking finding is that a majority of Australians want to see more government spending on social security.
They strongly believe that the wealthy and big business are not paying their fair share, and support for the government’s tax cut for big business is weak.
Other key findings of the Survey are:
- More Australians in the middle-income bracket believe they are paying too much tax
- More than three-quarters of respondents support higher government spending on both health and education.
- Respondents strongly support the removal tax concessions which allow people and companies to reduce their tax.
- More than 60% believe we should crack down on corporate tax avoidance to pay for more services.
- 57% of respondents say negative gearing should either be restricted or abolished.
- 62% oppose a tax cut for big business.
- Only just over a quarter of respondents supported the Government’s now-abandoned measure to increase the Medicare Levy on all Australians to fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
The 2018 Per Capita Tax Survey, taken between 27 March and 7 April, used a demographically representative sample group of 1,557 Australians.
