by Jim Rose in economic history, entrepreneurship, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, Marxist economics, occupational choice, politics - Australia, politics - USA, poverty and inequality Tags: Australia, British economy, Canada, Leftover Left, top 0.1%, top 1%

Figure 1: top 0.1% share of gross income, Australia, UK, USA and Canada since 1946

Source: Chartbook of Economic Inequality.

The top 0.1% in Australia is earning not much more than it did in 1946. For most of the post-war period, the Australian top 0.1% earned less than what it earned in 1946. The only spike in the earnings of the Australian top 0.1% occurred after the top tax rate of 66% was reduced to 49% in 1986.

There were major cuts in the top tax rates in Australia,the USA and UK in the early 1980s. Figure 1 shows that these top tax rate cuts were matched with a spike in the earnings of the top 0.1% subsequent to those large tax cuts.