Some general information from Bloombergs

Spending rebounded in the first three months of 2006 as unemployment hit a 29-year low and wages grew at their fastest pace in nine years. The central bank last week raised its benchmark interest rate a quarter point to cool inflation.


The average balance on credit cards that accrue interest was a record A$1,988 in February 2006

The unemployment rate is 5 percent, the lowest in 29 years.

Wages grew 4.2 percent in the three months to Dec. 31 from a year earlier, the fastest pace since the government began compiling its labor cost index in 1997.

Clothing and footwear prices fell a record 2.5 percent in the first quarter.
Furniture prices dropped 3.2 percent and electronic goods dropped 1.5 percent.

Loans for housing grew 13 percent in March from a year earlier and personal lending climbed 10.6 percent.


Consumer confidence hit a seven-month high in March and remained at that level in April, according to a survey by Westpac Banking Corp. and the Melbourne Institute.

Sales of food gained 0.9 percent in March and spending at hotels and restaurants also climbed 0.9 percent, today's report showed.

Some info from the OECD (from before the recent budget)

Australia is leading the developed world in slashing the tax burden on families - but is facing tough competition from countries slashing tax rates.

The OECD found the tax burden facing families had fallen in 14 of the organisation's 30 member nations, including Australia, Canada, Switzerland and the United States.

It found the tax burden on single income families had fallen the most in Australia between 2000 and 2005, by 4.7 percentage points. Only Ireland (4.6 percentage points) recorded a reduction close to Australia's.

Only five other countries - the US, New Zealand, Luxembourg, Ireland and Iceland - tax less and give more in benefits to a single income, two child family than Australia.

Australia's top tax rate - which Mr Costello has defended (although now reduced - May 2006) - is the ninth highest in the developed world. Countries with higher rates include Denmark, France, Japan and Austria.

The 2005 results show that Australia has the sixth-lowest tax wedge for a single employee among the 30 OECD countries.

This is also true for other family types where Australia is ranked between the second- and eighth-lowest of the 30 OECD countries.

When compared in terms of US dollars, Australian single average workers had a net wage of $US28,000 ($A39,789) which is the seventh-highest net wage of the 30 OECD countries, he said.

This was higher than the comparable US wage of $US24,206 ($A34,398).


The OECD also compared "Income Tax plus Employers and Employees Social Security Contributions" as a % of labour costs and came up with:

Australia:
Income Tax 22.7%
SS Contributions
* Employer 5.7%
* Employee 1.5%
Total 29.9%

UK:
Income Tax 15.7%
SS Contributions
* Employer 9.6%
* Employee 8.2%
Total 33.5%

The OECD average was a total of 37.3%, with Belgium being the highest at 55.4% and Korea the lowest at 17.3%.

For those of you in Ireland it was 25.7%

Very informative.

Thanks ABC ^_^

And from another report:

"Using data from the world values survey, Iceland is the only industrialised country to have a significantly higher level of both life satisfaction and happiness than in Australia," Mr Coombs said.

"But how many Australians would like to swap?
Maybe you need to be an Icelander to understand." :D

Iceland, I'd be too scared to go, cant stand Bjork! :angry: :lol:

Thanks for the info, interesting reading... :)