Over the 2015-16 financial year, more than 13 million Australians paid over $177 billion in income taxes. 

Like most people, when numbers start to involve more than three zeros we start to lose interest (unless the amount is going into our bank accounts!).  

So, with the help of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) statistics, we took a sample group of 100 Australian taxpayers to break down the numbers.

You can view other interactive stats on Government and Taxes in our Data Room.

From our group of 100 taxpayers – 

Demographics

• 35 would be under 35 years old, and 17 would be over 60 years old;
• 48 would be female and 52 would be male;
• They would include twelve clerical workers, nine salespeople, eight construction workers, six working in hospitality, four teachers and three nurses;
• 31 would be from NSW, 25 from Victoria, and another 20 from Queensland; 
• one would be from overseas.

Income and Expenses

• 79 would earn under $80,000 a year;
• One would have to pay the Medicare levy surcharge;
• Two would have made personal contributions to their superannuation.

Property

• 16 would own at least one investment property with a rental income; 
• 10 of these property owners would earn under $80,000 a year;
• Six of the property owners would use negative gearing, and earn under $80,000 a year.