I would like to know the rate of personal income imposed on the individual in Australia. I just wondered how heavily taxed is the average indivdual. — Cherrie, USA

[Updated with the new tax rates and average earning figure.]

Australians probably don’t pay the highest tax rates in the world, but neither do we pay the lowest. In turn for handing over our hard-earned dollars, we have quite generous (by world standards) policies regarding social welfare and universal health cover, and various other things that are generally seen as good things but cost a bunch of money to maintain. All the same, you’ll find many Aussies (especially those with higher incomes, paying more tax) are more than happy to whinge to you about it.

Income tax for residents is:

• $1 to $6000 – no tax
• $6001 to $25,000 – 15% of each dollar over $6000
• $25,001 to $75,000 – $2,850 plus 30% of each dollar over $25,000
• $75,001 to $150,000 – $17,850 plus 40% of each dollar over $75,000
• $150,001 and above – $47,850 plus 45% of each dollar over $150,000

There’s an extra 1.5% tax for Medicare. Various deductions and offsets apply, depending on circumstances. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average earnings is $1,162.20 per week, or $60,434.40 per year. Presumbly Mr or Ms Average is paying $13,480.32 in tax out of that, plus $906.52 Medicare tax.

And of course, this is all in Australian dollars. Sometimes it’s known as the Aussie Peso, but at the time of writing, the A$ is worth about US$0.93, close to the highest in years. (For Australians reading who don’t fully understand the international currency market, this does NOT mean you should avoid being paid one dollar coins because they’re worth less.)

• Australian Taxation Office: Individual income tax rates
• Australian Bureau of Statistics: Average weekly earnings

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