Young people, taxes and benefits, 2003-04
The Australian Bureau of Statistics' publication Australian Social Trends 2008 contains a section titled 'Government benefits, taxes and household income', which includes statistics on the effect of government taxes and benefits on the household income of selected life-course groups, including young singles and couples, for the period 2003-04.Young people (aged less than 35 years) living alone or as a couple without children tend to contribute more on average in taxes than they receive in government benefits. In 2003-04:
- young singles contributed on average $258 a week in taxes and received $87 a week in benefits
- young couple households paid $534 a week in taxes and received $109 a week in benefits.
The net contributor state for these two life-course groups largely reflects their comparatively high employment levels and their relative youth, which means they tend to be in good health and, therefore, use fewer health services than other groups. The absence of children in these households also means that they receive relatively few education benefits and no health benefits associated with the early years of life.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008, Australian social trends, Cat. no. 4102.0, viewed 2 October 2008, http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Chapter8102008.