New Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey is promising more transparency come tax time. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
TREASURER Joe Hockey is going to show you the money.
In one of his first acts as Treasurer, Mr Hockey will instruct the Australian Tax Office to send taxpayers a personalised and itemised receipt thanking them for their tax dollars and detailing where the money was spent.
The receipts will show, in dollar terms, how much of a person's tax bill was spent on welfare, health, education and other areas.
The level of gross government debt will also be displayed prominently with a break-down per person.
Treasurer Hockey said the receipts, which will be sent at tax time starting next year, would boost transparency and hold government to account.
This is what the tax receipt would look like. Source:Supplied
"Taxpayers deserve to know where their money is being spent," Mr Hockey said.
"The Coalition understands that every dollar the Government has it holds on trust for the taxpayer."
For a person who has paid $20,000 in tax, the receipts would show that nearly $7000 was spent on welfare alone, plus $3200 on health, $2600 in transfers to state governments and $1500 on education. These four items make up over two thirds of total federal government spending.
Of the $7,000 spent on welfare, about $2,700 would go towards aged care, $1800 to family support, $1300 on disability support and $500 on jobless support.
Defence spending would account for another $1,100 of this person's tax bill while paying interest on Commonwealth debt would absorb another $600.
The figures are based on a breakdown of total federal government spending.
"The Australian Government thanks you for the tax you have paid," the receipts will say.
The Abbott Government is preparing to announce the details of its Commission of Audit into government spending as it looks for budget savings to help return the budget to surplus.
Legislation must be introduced soon to increase the debt ceiling of $300 billion, which will be surpassed before Christmas.
As part of the new tax receipts, taxpayers will be told the level of gross government debt and provided with an estimate of how much that is per person.
"This initiative will help keep pressure on government to ensure that tax revenue is spent wisely," Mr Hockey said. "This will force the Government to be more accountable to taxpayers who rightly feel that, under the current government, their taxes are all too often being frittered away."
Despite a budget in the red, the Coalition has vowed to scrap the mining and carbon taxes, while also reducing the company tax rate by 1.5 per centage points.
The Coalition will conduct a review of taxes, but has indicated it would like to find major savings by reducing spending rather than increasing taxes.
"The Coalition is committed to delivering lower, fairer and simpler taxes for Australian families and businesses," Mr Hockey said.
