Research commissioned by Anglicare Australia shows that each year, a staggering $68 billion in taxpayer dollars is spent keeping the wealthiest households wealthy. That is greater than the cost of Newstart, disability support, or any other benefit.
The Cost of Privilege report, conducted with Per Capita, finds that tax exemptions on private healthcare and education for the wealthiest 20% cost over $3 billion a year, superannuation concessions to them cost over $20 billion a year, and their Capital Gains Tax exemptions cost a staggering $40 billion a year.
Following the latest round of welfare cuts, these numbers tell us that something has gone badly wrong – we have become a country that cuts from the poorest to give to the richest. Our analysis of tax concessions for high income earners shows that such concessions cost the federal budget far more than support for any single welfare recipient group.