Impact of the Governments Plan for a New Tax System on Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities Report Prepared by ATSIC January 1999 The Allen Consulting Group
Tabled paper 965
Tabled Papers for 8th Assembly 1997 - 2001; Tabled Papers; ParliamentNT
1999-02-16
Tabled by Sydney Stirling
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory under Standing Order 240. Where copyright subsists with a third party it remains with the original owner and permission may be required to reuse the material.
English
Tabled papers
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https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C1968A00063
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/295731
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/394614
I m p a c t o f a N e w T a x S y s t e m o n R u r a l a n d R e m o t e 1 n d i g h n o u s C o m m u n i t i e s Expenses (as % of Incom e) Food: 39.3% Clothing & Footwear: 6.0% All Household Items: 3.2% Households Housing (Rent): 8.7% Fuel & Power: 5.5% Average Transport: 5.6% Recreation: 2.5% Alcohol & Tobacco: 19.5% Other: 3.7% Savings: 6% 3.2.1 Food A striking feature of the pattern of consumption in rural and remote Indigenous communities is the high share of expenditure on food in household budgets. This share is greater than that associated with the income of the lowest quintile non-Indigenous households. Recent studies (Johnson et al (1998)) show that for non-Indigenous households, about 24 per cent o f household budgets are spent on food and non-alcoholic beverages. Anecdotal evidence presented in recent studies on this subject suggest that in some cases, expenditure on food in rural and remote Indigenous communities can go as high as 50 or even 60 per cent of household budgets. On the basis of the results of the survey, it can be seen that the share o f Indigenous household budgets spent on food lie in the range 32 to 54 per cent. Part of the reason for the greater share of food in household budgets o f people in rural and remote Indigenous communities, compared with low income non-Indigenous households, is the much higher prices people living in rural and remote locations must pay for store goods. This can be attributed to high transport costs and the monopoly position held by stores in many rural and remote communities. 3.2.2 Clothing and Footwear The survey results also show that the share of expenditure on clothing and footwear by households in rural and remote Indigenous communities lies between 5 to 8 per cent. 3.2.3 Health and Education Services A significant difference between the expenditure pattern of rural and remote Indigenous communities and the national expenditure pattern for the Australian community derives from the fact that health and education services are provided free of charge. Tin? Allen ConsuiLmi < innip 8