Women

Working Families Incomes

No tax cut for 85% of Women Workers

ACTU slams Howard Govt Unfair tax system

By David Carey
Federal Secretary (SPSF Group) - CPSU Joint National Secretary

Five in six (85%) working women miss out on tomorrow's tax cuts. The Howard Government's latest tax cuts which take effect from tomorrow are so unfair that five in six working women (85%) -- all those earning less than $52,000 a year -- will miss out on a tax cut.

The ACTU has put together research and crunched the numbers on incomes and the new tax rates. When it looked at the forward tax rates for the low paid the research figures showed that, in many cases, the lower paid will pay more tax over the coming years.

The next and clear point from the research was that Women workers will be worst affected.
ACTU President Sharan Burrow said:

"The Howard Government's tax cuts are biased against the more than 3.6 million women who are working hard but earning less than $52,000 a year.

Only 15% of working women -- around 640,000 women -- will get a tax cut, while the vast majority will miss out.

We already know that women's work is often underpaid and undervalued and the latest tax cuts will make the situation even worse.

Women earn on average 67% of men's earnings, or $271 a week less than men. More than 45% of women, compared to 22% of men earn less than $26,000 a year, or $500 a week.

The tax cuts are also biased against low and middle income Australians with 70% of working Australians - 6.6 million taxpayers - who earn less than $52,000 a year missing out on tomorrow's tax cuts.

ACTU modelling of tax and bracket creep shows that over the next three years low income earners will pay up to $2500 extra in tax while people earning $80,000 a year will get an effective tax cut of more than $5,800.

The worst affected are single people who receive no help from the Howard Government's family payments and are earning just above the minimum wage on incomes around $25,000 to $30,000. They will be slugged up to $19 a week more in effective tax.

Besides the unfairness of the tax changes, working women and their families have been hit with price rises for basic services thanks to the Government's shift to user pays. ABS data shows health costs have jumped 28% while dental costs are up 46%; education costs are up 53%, and home ownership costs are up 37%.

The Howard Government has also failed to fix the problems in the tax and family payments systems that punish low income working women at the expense of families that can afford to have one parent staying at home.

Recent research by Professor Patricia Apps of Sydney University shows that low income mothers who work part-time lose 44% of their income in tax and lost family payments while high income women lose 33%.

Women on low incomes are particularly affected by the withdrawal of family payments which provide a disincentive to earn extra income.

It is shameful that working women and low income Australians will see so little benefit from the $52 billion in tax cuts and spending commitments announced in last month's Budget."

© 2001 Community & Public Sector Union - State Public Services Federation (CPSU-SPSF) - National Office

http://www.cpsu-spsf.asn.au/latest_news/women/20040630_Tax.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005