This is why Treasury loves Big Australia immigration

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The SMH published the following chart showing the drivers of the rise in income tax receipts over recent financial years:

Bracket Creep

As you can see by the purple bars above, “growth in the tax filer population” is a key driver of the rise in personal income taxes.

This is code for net overseas migration, given new migrants comprise the overwhelming majority of net new entrants to the labour market.

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Historical NOM

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.