In one state, the average person is forking out 62 per cent more in State Government and local council taxes than they did in 2003.

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveal the average Australian paid $16,401 in taxes to local, state and federal governments last financial year – a 36 per cent rise since 2002-03.

In Western Australia, the State Government and local councils hiked taxes by 61.77 per cent per person over five years to $3470 – but only increased spending by 45 per cent in the same period.

In the ACT increased taxes by an average 42.8 per cent per person. Spending increased by just 28.56 per cent.

The people of NSW are the second-most taxed by state and local governments – behind WA.

Overall state taxes and council fees have risen by 40 per cent in five years.

The biggest tax burden on Australians was Commonwealth taxes, totalling $285.7 billion in the 2007-08 financial year. In 2002-03, they amounted to $194.8 billion.

The average Australian forked out $13,451 in Federal Government taxes last year, up from $9853 in 2002-03.

The ABS figures do not include the tens of millions of dollars handed out by the Federal Government each year under GST arrangements.

The GST accounts for 12.7 per cent of all tax paid by Australians. More than $44 million in GST was raised last financial year.

Average amount of tax paid to state and local governments (per capita):

                        2002-03      2007-08

NSW:                $2480          $3083

VIC:                  $2281         $2962

Qld:                  $1861         $2763

SA:                   $2015         $2796

WA:                  $2145         $3470

TAS:                 $1558         $2122

ACT:                 $2110        $3014

Average amount of tax paid to all governments (per capita):

                       2002-03     2007-08

NSW:               $12,333      $16,534

VIC:                $12,134      $16,413

Qld:                $11,714      $16,214

SA:                 $11,868       $16,247

WA:                $11,998       $16,921

TAS:               $11,411       $15,573

ACT:               $11,963       $16,465

Company taxation takes centre stage in Australia’s Future Tax System, a snapshot of the tax system’s architecture released yesterday by Treasury secretary Ken Henry.

The document, intended as a preliminary discussion paper rather than a comprehensive analysis, makes no recommendations about the future shape of the tax system. But it does say the current system contains “overlapping and inconsistent regulations” that make it harder for businesses to work productively.

“Every extra hour spent by households and businesses grappling with the myriad of tax rules and obligations (including the different regimes across the states) is an hour not used to produce goods and services (including utilising leisure time), that are of higher value to Australians,” the report says.

The paper comes as Dr Henry prepares a comprehensive analysis of the nation’s tax arrangements, to be delivered to Treasurer Wayne Swan by the end of next year.

CPA Australia senior tax counsel Garry Addison said the project of removing inefficient state taxes was “critical” to the review. “Duplication, overlap and inconsistency severely hamper the effectiveness of the overall system and Australia’s international competitiveness,” he said.

Mr Addison suggested administration and collection of taxes should be more centralised in the Australian Taxation Office to avoid the cost of complying with numerous authorities across levels of government.

But while the paper laments the time lost dealing with complex taxes, it declines to recommend a fix.

States are unable to raise enough money to pay for their expenses, including their share of big projects like roads, bridges and schools, in part because of the range of taxation options they are allowed under the Constitution.

Combined, money from the Federal Government accounted for 45% of state spending last year.

Company tax was the second-largest source of tax revenue last year, after personal tax, and accounted for 5.3% of gross domestic product. That places Australia fourth-highest among countries affiliated with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Since Australia last lowered its corporate tax rate ó from 36% to 30% ó the average rate in OECD countries has fallen from 32.5% to 26.6%.

A spokesman for the Australian Industry Group said Australia should follow the trend and cut its corporate tax rate to 25%.

But KPMG’s head of tax in Australia, Ross Doherty, said the company tax rate alone gave a shallow understanding of the corporate tax burden.

A KPMG study found that, when the total tax burden across all levels of government was considered, Australia fared better than countries including the US, Britain, Japan, Germany, Italy and France.

But Mr Doherty said taxes, other than the federal company tax, were relatively low in Australia. But he conceded that compliance with the many taxes was a drain.

“The costly complexities and administrative inefficiencies, both for corporates and governments, do not enhance a business-friendly environment,” he said.