6523.0 - Household Income and Income Distribution, Australia, 2011-12  
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APPENDIX 6 COMPARISON OF INCOME BETWEEN SIH AND THE AUSTRALIAN SYSTEM OF NATIONAL ACCOUNTS


INTRODUCTION

This publication contains estimates of the income of Australian households from data collected in the Survey of Income and Housing (SIH). The SIH estimates of income are compiled from information collected from individual households, and are used to analyse the distribution of household income across the population and to compare levels of income between various population subgroups. These analyses support the development, implementation and evaluation of social and economic policies, including the effects of the tax and transfer systems, particularly for potentially disadvantaged groups such as pensioners, one-parent families and the unemployed. The results also assist in planning services (e.g. health, housing, disability, child care, education, aged care), and have wide application in business planning, especially in the housing and retail sectors.

The Australian System of National Accounts (ASNA) also provides estimates of income for the household sector as a whole. The ASNA estimates of income are compiled from many sources, most of which do not provide information for different population subgroups within the household sector. The ASNA is designed to provide a systematic summary of economic activity of the Australian economy and to present a statistical picture of the structure of the economy and the detailed processes that make up domestic production and its distribution. Within the national accounting framework, the data show how the household sector relates to the corporate and government sectors in Australia and enables comparison with the rest of the world.

As the SIH and ASNA estimates of household income have been developed for different purposes, there are a number of differences in the resulting estimates of income. This appendix compares income data from the two collections and describes and quantifies some of the main scope, definitional and methodological differences between them.


Data used in comparisons

Income data from the SIH and ASNA are presented for the nine financial years from 2003-04 to 2011-12 for comparison across the two systems (Tables A6 and A7).

The SIH is conducted biennially and enumerated over a 12 month period so that the estimates of 'current' income, that is estimates of usual income being received at the time the data were collected from respondents, are representative of income patterns across the 'current' financial year. Estimates for 2003-04, 2005-06, 2007-08, 2009-10, and 2011-12 (SIH years) relate to 'current' financial year income.

The SIH also collects full year, or annual income with respect to the 'previous' financial year. Estimates for 2004-05, 2006-07, 2008-09, and 2010-11 relate to 'previous' financial year income.

Current income estimates provide the most accurate information for analysis of total income and its distribution. However, data for current year income and previous year income are compared with the annual ASNA estimates.

The ASNA is compiled quarterly and annually from many data sources, mostly statistical surveys or as by-products of government administrative processes. As only aggregate information is needed, use can be made of partial data sources and imputation. In some cases, there may be a reliable estimate for the whole economy, but less reliable indicators or assumptions are used to disaggregate the economy wide estimate into estimates for sectors of the the economy, such as those relating to the government, households and corporate entities. Some estimates are based on data collections that are only conducted occasionally, with estimates interpolated and extrapolated. For these reasons, initial estimates are often revised as later or more comprehensive data become available. Details are available in Australian National Accounts: Concepts, Sources and Methods (cat. no. 5216.0).

The unadjusted ASNA estimates of income in this appendix are those from Tables 46, 47, 59 and 60 in the publication Australian System of National Accounts, 2011-12 (cat. no. 5204.0). This appendix also uses unpublished estimates from ASNA to better align ASNA and SIH concepts.

SIH and ASNA income estimates in this appendix include social transfers in kind (STIK), which have been added to total income at household level (SIH) and national level (ASNA). Social transfers in kind are non-cash benefits and services provided by the government to households for education, health, social security and welfare, and electricity concessions and rebates. They include reimbursements of approved expenditure, such as the Child Care Rebate. The STIK estimates in 2011-12 are the first STIK estimates generated from SIH households, previous STIK estimates in 2003-04 and 2009-10 were produced from fiscal incidence studies which were conducted on households in the Household Expenditure Survey in those years.

A6. SIH ESTIMATES OF ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME(a)

2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
$b
$b
$b
$b
$b
$b
$b
$b
$b

Reported income
Wages and salaries(b)
341.7
387.2
402.1
461.0
513.1
525.5
546.6
591.6
615.4
Government pensions and allowances
Australian governments pensions and allowances
55.0
50.5
59.5
51.6
64.6
75.8
77.9
73.0
87.4
Overseas governments pensions and allowances
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.0
1.3
1.3
1.5
1.3
1.4
Total government pensions and allowances
56.3
52.0
61.1
52.6
65.9
77.1
79.3
74.4
88.7
Profit or loss from own unincorporated business
31.2
35.8
39.4
37.4
40.7
34.7
40.5
37.4
46.4
Investment income
Interest(c)
5.3
7.5
7.5
9.5
9.4
12.1
9.3
14.4
13.7
Dividends from own incorporated businesses
6.8
6.9
9.9
5.9
10.1
7.4
12.6
5.5
7.5
Dividends from shares
5.5
8.6
8.8
9.3
9.6
8.0
7.8
8.0
8.2
Distributions from trusts
Public unit trusts(d)
na
na
na
1.1
1.3
1.1
1.2
1.1
1.1
Other trusts(d)
na
na
na
7.5
12.7
8.5
9.0
10.2
9.9
Total trusts
2.5
3.7
3.7
8.6
14.0
9.6
10.3
11.3
11.0
Silent partner income(d)
na
na
na
1.2
1.3
0.7
0.7
0.2
1.0
Profit or loss from residential property
0.3
-1.3
-1.3
-1.3
-1.1
-2.9
-2.0
-3.6
-2.9
Profit or loss from non-residential property
1.8
2.0
1.9
1.2
1.2
1.4
1.1
2.5
2.7
Other financial investments(e)
0.3
0.4
0.4
1.4
0.6
0.7
0.6
0.8
1.0
Total investment income
22.5
27.9
31.0
35.8
45.2
37.0
40.5
39.1
42.3
Other income
Superannuation and life insurance pensions
13.2
12.8
14.3
17.4
20.6
20.4
22.0
23.0
25.6
Workers' compensation
0.7
0.9
0.8
1.0
1.3
1.2
1.3
2.1
1.7
Income from persons not living in the household
3.0
2.7
3.2
5.5
8.3
6.5
8.0
7.1
9.2
Other income nec
0.8
1.0
1.5
1.7
1.4
1.5
2.0
3.2
2.9
Total other income
17.7
17.4
19.7
25.6
31.6
29.6
33.3
35.5
39.4
Total reported income
469.5
520.2
553.3
612.5
696.5
703.8
740.2
777.9
832.3
Imputed income
Net imputed rent from owner-occupied dwellings(f)
23.8
24.5
25.1
27.4
29.6
35.2
40.7
40.5
40.3
Total income
493.2
544.7
578.4
639.8
726.1
739.0
781.0
818.5
872.6
STIK(g)
96.1
na
na
na
na
na
156.3
na
184.1
Total income plus STIK
589.3
na
na
na
na
na
937.3
na
1 056.7

na not available
(a) Estimates for 2004-05, 2006-07, 2008-09, and 2010-11 were derived from income data reported for the previous financial year in SIH 2005-06, SIH 2007-08 SIH, 2009-10, and SIH 2011-12, respectively
(b) Salary sacrificed income and non-cash benefits were imputed in 2004-05, 2006-07, 2008-09, and 2010-11
(c) Includes interest from offset accounts enumerated separately in 2011-12
(d) Public unit trust, other trust and silent partner income were collected but are not available separately in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06
(e) Includes royalties
(f) Net imputed rent in SIH years is modelled based on dwelling characteristics for sampled households. For 2004-05, 2006-07, 2008-09, and 2010-11, net imputed rent is the average of net imputed rent for the year before and after the given year. For example, the 2004-05 value of $24 billion is the average of 2003-04 and 2005-06
(g) Social transfers in kind are not available for 2004-05 to 2008-09, nor in 2010-11

A7 ASNA ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME

2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
$b
$b
$b
$b
$b
$b
$b
$b
$b

Primary income
Gross operating surplus - dwellings owned by persons
54.6
56.3
59.2
65.2
75.9
83.9
91.2
97.2
101.7
Gross mixed income
76.3
76.8
72.5
88.3
91.8
90.2
99.9
121.2
118.3
Compensation of employees
Wages and salaries
369.7
400.3
430.8
470.0
512.1
529.9
548.6
588.4
630.4
Employers' social contributions
42.7
46.7
51.0
56.2
61.3
63.5
65.9
70.9
76.0
Total compensation of employees
412.5
447.0
481.8
526.2
573.4
593.4
614.6
659.3
706.4
Property income
Interest(a)
18.6
21.2
23.1
28.2
35.0
34.7
34.2
40.6
41.6
Imputed interest
32.8
36.8
43.2
48.7
60.5
62.3
65.6
74.0
76.1
Dividends
16.2
18.9
21.4
25.7
27.3
27.5
25.8
29.0
31.2
Reinvested earnings
-
-0.2
-0.2
0.1
-0.3
-0.5
0.1
0.3
0.3
Rent on natural assets
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Total property income
67.6
76.6
87.6
102.8
122.4
124.0
125.8
143.9
149.3
Total primary income
611.0
663.0
713.7
786.3
855.7
889.6
925.0
1 021.6
1 075.6
Secondary income
Workers' compensation
7.0
8.0
4.8
6.3
6.2
7.9
8.9
9.4
9.8
Social assistance benefits
72.7
75.1
78.0
82.7
87.2
112.8
100.8
103.8
113.5
Non-life insurance claims
17.4
19.5
21.0
21.1
22.5
25.4
27.3
29.1
30.6
Current transfers to non-profit institutions
13.7
14.8
17.2
19.1
21.0
24.0
29.9
28.4
29.6
Other current transfers
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.8
3.8
4.0
3.8
3.9
3.9
Total secondary income
114.0
120.7
124.5
132.9
140.8
174.1
170.8
174.6
187.4
Total gross income
725.0
783.7
838.2
919.2
996.5
1 063.8
1 095.8
1 196.3
1 263.0
STIK
92.0
100.9
105.6
114.7
123.6
136.3
144.0
151.3
157.9
Total gross income plus STIK
817.1
884.6
943.8
1 033.9
1 120.1
1 200.1
1 239.8
1 347.5
1 420.9

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Interest includes the cost of financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM)



SCOPE AND MEASUREMENT DIFFERENCES

There are a number of scope and measurement differences that can be quantified between the SIH and ASNA household income systems (Table A8).

The SIH estimates of household income include two components which are not included in the income attributed to the household sector in the ASNA. Firstly, the SIH estimate includes the payments households receive from superannuation, annuities or private pensions ($25.6 billion in 2011-12), whereas the ASNA includes the imputed income, such as from interest and dividends, earned by superannuation funds on behalf of their members (part of 'Imputed interest' in Table A8). Secondly, the SIH estimate includes financial support from persons not living in the household ($10.6 billion in 2011-12), whereas in the ASNA, sectoral accounts transfers from one household to another within Australia's economic territory are recorded on a net basis, thus they are assumed to net out to zero across all households.

The ASNA household sector estimates of income also include some components which are not included in the SIH measure. The components of the $240.8 billion adjustment that was subtracted from the ASNA aggregate in 2011-12 were:
  • employers' social contributions, that is the compulsory contributions payable by employers to secure social benefits for their employees, such as superannuation contributions and workers' compensation premiums ($76.0 billion);
  • imputed interest, which includes the investment income of insurance enterprises, superannuation funds and investment funds attributable to policyholders, as well as imputed interest on government unfunded superannuation arrangements ($76.1 billion);
  • non-life insurance claims ($30.6 billion);
  • government transfers to non-profit institutions serving households (NPISHs) such as churches and charities ($29.6 billion);
  • FISIM on interest received, that is the imputed value of the services provided by financial institutions to depositors ($13.0 billion);
  • The Child Care Benefit and the Private Health Insurance Rebate, treated as STIK in SIH ($8.2 billion); and
  • the imputed reinvested earnings from undistributed investment fund and foreign direct investment income ($0.3 billion).

There are also quantifiable differences in the measurement of income from housing and operations of unincorporated enterprises. In the SIH, a much broader range of housing and business expenses are deducted in calculating income. To better align the scope of the two measures an adjustment, for 2011-12, of $118.9 billion of net expenses from housing and operations of unincorporated business was deducted from the ASNA aggregate.

After adjusting for the quantifiable differences shown in Table A8, the alignment of SIH and ASNA aggregates is improved. In 2011-12, the adjusted SIH income was $834.4 billion compared with adjusted ASNA income of $910.4 billion. However, there are two remaining scope differences which cannot be easily quantified. The SIH excludes both people living in non-private dwellings and people living in very remote regions of Australia. It is estimated that this excludes approximately 3% of people living in Australia. The ASNA household sector estimates also include the activity of NPISHs. While government transfers to NPISHs can be quantified, other income received by NPISHs such as transfers from the corporate sector, investment income and income from the sale of goods and services cannot be separately identified for all years presented in tables. In total, NPISHs are estimated to contribute up to 5% to total ASNA household sector income.

In addition to the income quantified in the Household Income Account (ASNA) and Total current weekly income (SIH), both ASNA and SIH quantify social transfers in kind (STIK). Social transfers in kind are non-cash benefits and services provided by government to households at no cost. The SIH treats reimbursements for approved expenditure (such as the Child Care Rebate, Child Care Benefit, and Private Health Insurance Rebate) as social transfers in kind. ASNA defines some government benefits, like the Private Health Insurance Rebate (PHIR) and Child Care Benefit (CCB), as cash government pensions and allowances (and are recorded under 'Social assistance benefits'). To more closely align the definitions between ASNA and SIH, annual estimates for government expenditure on PHIR and CCB are subtracted from the unadjusted total gross income in ASNA, and then added to the ASNA treatment of social transfers in kind. Some scope differences remain, however. As previously discussed, excluded from the SIH estimates are households in very remote regions, and all persons living in non-private dwellings. However, SIH estimates include amounts from health, social security and welfare administration and services that are excluded from the ASNA estimate of STIK. The ASNA estimate also includes some benefits not relatable to the private households in scope of SIH, such as expenditure on institutional aged care.

A8 ADJUSTMENT FOR SELECTED SCOPE AND MEASUREMENT DIFFERENCES

2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12

SIH items(a)
Total income(b) $b
493.2
544.7
578.4
639.8
726.1
739.0
781.0
818.5
872.6
Less
Superannuation and life insurance pensions $b
13.2
12.8
14.3
17.4
20.6
20.4
22.0
23.0
25.6
Income from persons not living in the household $b
3.0
2.7
3.2
5.5
8.3
6.5
8.0
7.1
9.2
Other income $b
0.8
1.0
1.5
1.7
1.4
1.5
2.0
3.2
2.9
Adjusted SIH income $b
476.2
528.2
559.5
615.3
695.7
710.6
749.0
785.1
834.9
STIK $b
96.1
na
na
na
na
na
156.3
na
184.1
Adjusted SIH income plus STIK $b
572.3
na
na
na
na
na
905.3
na
1 019.0
ASNA items
Total gross income $b
725.0
783.7
838.2
919.2
996.5
1 063.8
1 095.8
1 196.3
1 263.0
Less
Employers' social contributions $b
42.7
46.7
51.0
56.2
61.3
63.5
65.9
70.9
76.0
Imputed interest $b
32.8
36.8
43.2
48.7
60.5
62.3
65.6
74.0
76.1
Non-life insurance claims $b
17.4
19.5
21.0
21.1
22.5
25.4
27.3
29.1
30.6
Current transfers to non-profit institutions(c) $b
13.7
14.8
17.2
19.1
21.0
24.0
29.9
28.4
29.6
FISIM on interest received $b
7.1
7.0
7.8
7.5
7.7
11.8
12.4
12.8
13.0
Social assistance benefits treated as STIK in SIH(d) $b
3.8
4.2
4.6
4.8
5.4
5.6
6.5
7.3
8.2
Reinvested earnings $b
-
-0.2
-0.2
0.1
-0.3
-0.5
0.1
0.3
0.3
Housing expenses to align ASNA income from dwellings to SIH basis $b
33.9
40.0
44.8
55.4
68.5
65.8
67.8
81.0
83.1
Business expenses to align ASNA gross mixed income to SIH basis $b
23.5
24.4
25.4
28.8
29.7
30.6
33.1
35.4
35.8
Adjusted ASNA income $b
550.0
590.7
623.4
677.6
720.2
775.1
787.1
857.0
910.4
Total social transfers in kind $b
95.8
105.0
110.1
119.5
129.0
141.9
150.5
158.6
166.1
Equals: Social transfers in kind $b
92.0
100.9
105.6
114.7
123.6
136.3
144.0
151.3
157.9
Plus: Social assistance benefits treated as STIK in SIH $b
3.8
4.2
4.6
4.8
5.4
5.6
6.5
7.3
8.2
Adjusted ASNA income plus Total STIK $b
645.8
695.7
733.6
797.0
849.2
917.0
937.6
1 015.6
1 076.4
Adjusted SIH as a percent of adjusted ASNA %
86.6
89.4
89.7
90.8
96.6
91.7
95.2
91.6
91.7
Adjusted SIH plus STIK, as a percent of adjusted ASNA plus Total STIK %
88.6
na
na
na
na
na
96.6
na
94.7

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
na not available
(a) Estimates for 2004-05, 2006-07, 2008-09, and 2010-11 were derived from income data reported for the previous financial year in SIH 2005-06, SIH 2007-08, SIH 2009-10, and SIH 2011-12, respectively
(b) See footnotes in table A6 for calculation of SIH total income
(c) Includes transfers from general government and public non-financial corporations
(d) Includes the Private Health Insurance Rebate and Child Care Benefit



COMPARISON OF INCOME ITEMS

The following section compares selected individual sources of income in this publication with income items published in the ASNA, or source data available for those items.


Wages and salaries

The largest component of household income is wages and salaries. In SIH 2011-12, reported wages and salaries were $615.4 billion or 69.8% of total income This estimate includes workers' compensation received directly through the payroll (estimated at $8.1 billion). It does not include any wages and salaries of people living in non-private dwellings or people living in very remote regions of Australia.

ASNA estimates of wages and salaries are mainly sourced from ABS quarterly and annual surveys of businesses. In ASNA 2011-12, wages and salaries were $630.4 billion. It is expected that the ASNA estimate of wages and salaries for 2011-12, and possibly earlier years, may be revised as more complete data become available, in particular annual survey data.

Table A9 shows that wages and salaries in SIH and ASNA are closely aligned. The ASNA estimates for 2009-10 and earlier years have been revised from the previous estimates shown in the 2009-10 edition of this publication.

A9 WAGES AND SALARIES

2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12

SIH items(a)
Reported wages and salaries $b
341.7
387.2
402.1
461.0
513.1
525.5
546.6
591.6
615.4
Less: Workers' compensation received through payroll(b) $b
6.3
7.2
4.1
5.2
5.0
6.7
7.6
7.2
8.1
Wages and salaries $b
335.4
380.0
398.0
455.8
508.1
518.8
539.0
584.4
607.3
ASNA item
Wages and salaries $b
369.7
400.3
430.8
470.0
512.1
529.9
548.6
588.4
630.4
SIH as a percent of ASNA %
90.7
94.9
92.4
97.0
99.2
97.9
98.2
99.3
96.3

(a) Estimates for 2004-05, 2006-07, 2008-09, and 2010-11 were derived from income data reported for the previous financial year in SIH 2005-06, SIH 2007-08, SIH 2009-10, and SIH 2011-12, respectively
(b) Estimated as ASNA workers' compensation estimates less the separately reported workers' compensation payments collected in the SIH



Australian government pensions and allowances

In the SIH, government pensions and allowances paid to Australian residents in private dwellings are collected. These estimates mainly comprise age and disability pensions, carers' and youth allowances, family tax benefits and other payments administered by Centrelink, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, and the Family Assistance Office.

The related item in the ASNA is 'social assistance benefits' sourced from ABS government finance statistics which are compiled from data provided by individual government agencies to the Department of Finance and Deregulation, and state government treasuries. The scope of these payments is broader than those collected in the SIH as they include the Private Health Insurance Rebate, the Child Care Benefit, some education related payments made to parents to offset the cost of educating their children, and many other one-off or irregular payments made by various state and Commonwealth agencies.

In 2011-12, Australian government pensions and allowances in the SIH were $87.4 billion, which was lower than the ASNA estimate ($98.3 billion) after adjusting for payments treated as social transfers in kind in the SIH. The SIH estimates do not include pensions and allowances received by people living in non-private dwellings (e.g. nursing homes), nor by people living in very remote areas of Australia.

The large increase in the ASNA estimate in 2008-09 reflects the economic stimulus payments the Commonwealth government paid in that year. This is not fully reflected in the SIH estimate. As Table A10 indicates, the value of SIH pensions and allowances based on reporting of 'previous' financial year income were consistently lower than the reported 'current' financial year estimate when compared to the ASNA data. The lower 'previous' financial year estimate reflects the potential omission of supplementary or smaller payments and possible part year effects in the previous year.

A10 AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT PENSIONS AND ALLOWANCES

2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12

SIH item(a)
Australian governments pensions and allowances $b
55.0
50.5
59.5
51.6
64.6
75.8
77.9
73.0
87.4
ASNA item
Australian governments pensions and allowances $b
68.9
70.9
73.4
77.9
81.9
107.2
94.4
96.6
105.3
Equals: Social assistance benefits $b
72.7
75.1
78.0
82.7
87.2
112.8
100.8
103.8
113.5
Less: Social assistance benefits treated as STIK in SIH(b) $b
3.8
4.2
4.6
4.8
5.4
5.6
6.5
7.3
8.2
SIH as a percent of ASNA %
79.9
71.3
81.1
66.2
78.9
70.7
82.5
75.6
82.9

(a) Estimates for 2004-05, 2006-07, 2008-09, and 2010-11 were derived from income data reported for the previous financial year in SIH 2005-06, SIH 2007-08, SIH 2009-10, and SIH 2011-12, respectively
(b) Includes the Private Health Insurance Rebate and Child Care Benefit



Net business income

In the ASNA, income from production by unincorporated enterprises is referred to as gross mixed income (GMI), and is measured as income from production less intermediate consumption. Intermediate consumption consists of the value of the goods and services consumed as inputs to the production process. Other costs normally expensed in business accounts, such as interest payable on loans and depreciation are not deducted. The ASNA estimates of GMI are compiled mainly from the business tax returns of sole proprietors, partnerships and private trusts. Royalties and income from non-residential property are included in GMI.

The SIH collects the profit or loss from unincorporated businesses from working sole proprietors and partners. The income earned by silent partners and non-working beneficiaries of businesses and other trusts is collected separately and included in investment income. To align with the ASNA concept of unincorporated business income, these sources of income, along with non-residential property income and royalties have been included in net business income for comparison purposes, in Table A11.

Table A11 shows the individual items that relate to net business income for both ASNA and SIH. The SIH income from these selected items was $60.5 billion in 2011-12, compared to the ASNA estimate of $82.5 billion after adjusting GMI to remove business expenses not deducted. The higher income in ASNA may be partly due to the different classification between the ASNA and the SIH of some businesses that have a trust underlying their business operations, with the trustee listed as an incorporated entity. In the ASNA, these businesses would be classified as unincorporated enterprises whereas in the SIH, the business owners may report these businesses as incorporated enterprises (and their income included in dividend income).

The ASNA GMI estimate includes an adjustment to account for business under reporting to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). It is possible that some households may also under report their business income in the SIH.

A11 NET BUSINESS INCOME

2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12

SIH items(a)
Profit or loss from own unincorporated business $b
31.2
35.8
39.4
37.4
40.7
34.7
40.5
37.4
46.4
Profit or loss from non-residential property $b
1.8
2.0
1.9
1.2
1.2
1.4
1.1
2.5
2.7
Silent partner income(b) $b
na
na
na
1.2
1.3
0.7
0.7
0.2
1.0
Distributions from other trusts(b)(c) $b
na
na
na
7.5
12.7
8.5
9.0
10.2
9.9
Total selected SIH items(d) $b
33.2
37.9
41.4
47.5
56.1
45.6
51.5
50.7
60.5
ASNA items
Total selected ASNA items $b
52.8
52.5
47.1
59.5
62.0
59.6
66.8
85.8
82.5
Equals: Gross mixed income $b
76.3
76.8
72.5
88.3
91.8
90.2
99.9
121.2
118.3
Less: Business expenses to align gross mixed income to SIH basis $b
23.5
24.4
25.4
28.8
29.7
30.6
33.1
35.4
35.8
SIH as a percent of ASNA %
62.9
72.2
87.9
79.9
90.4
76.5
77.2
59.1
73.4

na not available
(a) Estimates for 2004-05, 2006-07, 2008-09, and 2010-11 were derived from income data reported for the previous financial year in SIH 2005-06, SIH 2007-08, SIH 2009-10, and SIH 2011-12, respectively
(b) Other trust and silent partner income were collected but are not available separately in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06
(c) Other trusts will include a small amount of income from non-business trusts such as inheritance trusts
(d) Includes royalties



Interest

In the SIH, interest income from bank accounts, debentures and bonds is collected. Interest from cash management trusts is also collected but is not able to be separately identified from income from public unit trusts, included in dividend income. For the 'current' year, respondents are asked to estimate their expected interest income in the financial year. For the 'previous' year, respondents are asked to report actual interest earned.

In the ASNA, interest estimates are derived from a large number of data sources by constructing matrices of the flows of interest receivable and payable between the various sectors and subsectors of the economy. To fully account for all income flows in the economy, the ASNA estimates of interest receivable include an imputed value of the services provided by financial institutions to depositors. This is referred to as financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM) and has been deducted from the ASNA estimate for comparison with SIH data as households have a concept of net income from their investment in deposits, after subtracting both direct and imputed charges. The ASNA estimates also include interest earned by unincorporated businesses and NPISHs, which cannot be separately identified or quantified.

Personal taxation data published by the ATO provide another measure of interest earned by persons in Australia. This information is the aggregated total of gross interest income reported on individual tax returns. Like the SIH interest item, income from cash management trusts and interest earned by unincorporated businesses are reported separately. The ATO interest statistic does not include interest received by persons not required to complete an individual tax return.

A12 INTEREST

2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12

SIH item(a)
Interest $b
5.3
7.5
7.5
9.5
9.4
12.1
9.3
14.4
13.7
ASNA items
Interest receivable (excluding FISIM) $b
11.5
14.2
15.3
20.7
27.3
22.9
21.8
27.8
28.7
Equals: Interest (including FISIM) $b
18.6
21.2
23.1
28.2
35.0
34.7
34.2
40.6
41.6
Less: FISIM(b)(b) $b
7.1
7.0
7.8
7.5
7.7
11.8
12.4
12.8
13.0
ATO statistics(c)
Interest $b
7.5
9.0
10.2
12.1
14.3
15.0
11.6
15.3
nya
SIH as a percent of ASNA %
46.4
53.0
49.1
45.9
34.6
53.0
42.6
52.0
47.7

nya not yet available
(a) Estimates for 2004-05, 2006-07, 2008-09, and 2010-11 were derived from income data reported for the previous financial year in SIH 2005-06, SIH 2007-08, SIH 2009-10, and SIH 2011-12, respectively
(b) Financial intermediation services indirectly measured
(c) Source: ATO, 2013


As shown in Graph A13, the SIH and ATO estimates align relatively closely. SIH estimates based on 'previous' year reporting (2004-05, 2006-07, 2008-09, and 2010-11) are closer to the ATO estimates than the estimates based on 'current' year reporting. This suggests that survey respondents provide a conservative estimate of expected interest in the SIH for the 'current' year, but a more accurate reporting of this income when actual interest earned is known.

The ASNA estimate of interest income, less FISIM, is substantially higher than both the SIH and ATO estimate in each year. The higher ASNA estimate of interest can be partly explained by the inclusion of interest received by unincorporated enterprises and NPISHs, and interest from cash management trusts.

A13. Interest
Graph: A13. Interest



Dividends

In the SIH, dividend income comprises dividends from publicly listed companies and public unit trusts (such as equity, cash management and property trusts), as well as dividends paid to households from their own incorporated companies. Respondents are asked to include imputation credits when they report their income from dividends. In SIH 2007-08, improvements were made to the questionnaire to separately collect information about public unit trusts and other trusts. These changes significantly improved the coverage of trust income. For the years prior to 2006-07 when income from both public and private trusts was collected together, total trust income is shown in Table A14. From 2006-07, other trust income (from private trusts) is shown in net business income in Table A11.

The ASNA estimates of dividends are based on data provided by the ATO. These differ from the SIH estimates as they do not include imputation credits, nor do they include dividends from cash management trusts. The ASNA estimates also include dividends received by NPISHs.

The ATO publishes separate estimates of income from dividends and dividend franking (imputation) credits in their statistics derived from personal tax returns.

As shown in Table A14, since 2006-07, dividend income from the SIH has been consistently lower than that estimated in the ASNA despite the inclusion in SIH of imputation credits. Some of this difference can be attributed to the scope exclusions in SIH and the inclusion of dividends received by NPISHs in the ASNA estimate.

A14 DIVIDENDS

2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12

SIH items(a)
Dividends from own incorporated businesses $b
6.8
6.9
9.9
5.9
10.1
7.4
12.6
5.5
7.5
Dividends from shares $b
5.5
8.6
8.8
9.3
9.6
8.0
7.8
8.0
8.2
Distributions from trusts(b) $b
2.5
3.7
3.7
na
na
na
na
na
na
Distributions from public unit trusts(b) $b
na
na
na
1.1
1.3
1.1
1.2
1.1
1.1
Dividends(c) $b
14.8
19.2
22.5
16.4
21.1
16.5
21.7
14.6
16.8
ASNA item
Dividends (excluding imputation credits) $b
16.2
18.9
21.4
25.7
27.3
27.5
25.8
29.0
31.2
ATO statistics(d)
Dividends (including imputation credits) $b
17.0
19.8
22.6
27.8
29.2
29.7
27.1
29.5
nya
Equals: Dividends $b
12.1
14.1
16.0
19.7
20.7
21.0
19.3
21.0
nya
Plus: Imputation credits $b
4.9
5.8
6.6
8.1
8.5
8.7
7.9
8.6
nya
SIH as a percent of ASNA %
91.3
101.9
104.9
63.6
77.4
60.0
84.3
50.4
53.8

na not available
nya not yet available
(a) Estimates for 2004-05, 2006-07, 2008-09, and 2010-11 were derived from income data reported for the previous financial year in SIH 2005-06, SIH 2007-08, SIH 2009-10, and SIH 2011-12, respectively
(b) Distributions from public unit trusts and other trusts have been collected separately since SIH 2007-08
(c) Includes imputation credits received from shares but not from unit trusts
(d) Source: ATO, 2013



Residential rental income

In the SIH, net profit or loss from investment properties is collected from respondents and the value of housing services accruing to owner-occupiers is imputed for the primary residence. Both estimates exclude all costs that would be borne by a landlord. The SIH estimates for residential property income will also be reported net of depreciation for some investment properties.

In the ASNA, income from residential property is presented as gross operating surplus (GOS) on dwellings owned by persons. This income includes actual rental income as well as an imputed value of housing services accruing to owner-occupiers from their occupation of both their principal residence and any additional residences such as holiday homes. GOS is calculated net of intermediate consumption costs, e.g. repairs and maintenance, the imputed service charges on finance and insurance, and body corporate fees.

To align with the SIH measurement of income from residential property, interest payable, water and sewerage costs and part of house insurance premiums have been deducted from the ASNA estimate of GOS, as shown in Table A15. However, no estimate of depreciation has been deducted from the ASNA estimates.

The SIH estimates of residential property income have been consistently higher than the ASNA estimates for the analysis period shown in Table A15.

A15 INCOME FROM RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY

2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12

SIH items(a)
Net imputed rent from owner-occupied dwellings(b) $b
23.8
24.5
25.1
27.4
29.6
35.2
40.7
40.5
40.3
Profit or loss from residential property $b
0.3
-1.3
-1.3
-1.3
-1.1
-2.9
-2.0
-3.6
-2.9
Income from residential property $b
24.1
23.2
23.8
26.0
28.5
32.3
38.7
37.0
37.4
ASNA items
Income from residential property $b
20.7
16.3
14.5
9.8
7.4
18.0
23.4
16.2
18.6
Equals: Gross operating surplus - dwellings owned by persons $b
54.6
56.3
59.2
65.2
75.9
83.9
91.2
97.2
101.7
Less
Interest payable(c) $b
28.3
34.1
38.3
48.5
60.9
57.4
58.5
69.6
71.5
Insurance adjustment to SIH basis $b
1.0
1.1
1.5
1.7
1.6
2.1
2.1
3.0
2.3
Water and sewerage costs $b
4.6
4.8
4.9
5.3
6.0
6.3
7.2
8.4
9.3
SIH as a percent of ASNA %
116.4
142.0
164.4
265.4
383.9
179.1
165.5
228.5
201.4

(a) Estimates for 2004-05, 2006-07, 2008-09, and 2010-11 were derived from income data reported for the previous financial year in SIH 2005-06, SIH 2007-08, SIH 2009-10, and SIH 2011-12, respectively
(b) Net imputed rent has not been estimated for 2004-05, 2006-07, 2008-09, and 2010-11. The average of net imputed rent for the year before and after has been used to impute these estimates. For example, the 2004-05 value of $24 billion is the average of 2003-04 and 2005-06
(c) Interest payable excludes financial intermediation services indirectly measured which is deducted as an intermediate consumption expense in gross operating surplus on dwellings


The difference in income from residential property estimates between SIH and ANSA is somewhat explained by a divergence in the estimates of gross rents. The ASNA uses Census data to provide an estimate of rental return and an estimate of stock of rental properties. ASNA uses average rental value of housing and other factors to extrapolate the rental benchmarks forward, the stock of dwellings is updated using ABS building completions data and an estimate for demolitions and other stock changes. As shown in Graph A16, the ASNA estimates of gross rents have been lower than the SIH estimates since 2005-06. Over time, the extrapolation methods used in ASNA rental estimates are likely to have contributed to the divergence from the SIH estimates of housing rental. ASNA estimates of rental income are due to be revised later this year with the introduction of new benchmarks incorporating information from the 2011 Census.

A16. Gross rent(a)
Graph: A16. Gross rent(a)


The lower rent estimate in ASNA than in SIH in recent years is also partly explained by differences in the reporting of interest. In the ASNA, housing mortgage interest information is supplied by loan providers. Business loans where the house has been used as collateral should not be included, but it is thought that some lenders report total mortgage interest. In the SIH, respondents are asked to report the purpose of their loan and only interest on loans used for the purchase of the dwelling has been deducted. In recent years many households have used the equity in their residential properties to purchase shares and fund consumption expenditure, particularly during the economic boom period prior to the global financial crisis (GFC) in late 2008. The rapid rise in interest rates prior to the GFC and the subsequent sharp fall in rates in the immediate aftermath are reflected in the ASNA estimates. Graph A17 illustrates the impact of rising interest rates between 2006 and 2008 on the ASNA estimate of income from residential property.

A17. Income from residential property(a)
Graph: A17. Income from residential property(a)



Social transfers in kind

Social transfers in kind have been modelled for the first time in the 2011-12 SIH, however STIK estimates are available in the years that the fiscal incidence studies were conducted (2003-04 and 2009-10). In 2011-12, SIH STIK was higher than the ASNA estimate of STIK., despite scope exclusions in the SIH. However, SIH estimates include amounts from health, social security and welfare administration and services that are excluded from the ASNA estimate of STIK.

A18 SOCIAL TRANSFERS IN KIND

2003-04
2009-10
2011-12

SIH item
Total social transfers in kind(a) $b
96.1
156.3
184.1
ASNA item
Total social transfers in kind(b) $b
95.8
150.5
166.1
Equals: Social transfers in kind $b
92.0
144.0
157.9
Plus: Social assistance benefits treated as STIK in SIH(c) $b
3.8
6.5
8.2
SIH as a percent of ASNA %
100.3
103.9
110.9

(a) Includes some expenditure not classified as STIK in ASNA
(b) Includes some social transfers that are not in scope of private households in the SIH
(c) Includes the Private Health Insurance Rebate and Child Care Benefit



References

ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2012, Australian System of National Accounts: 2011-12, cat. no. 5204.0, ABS, Canberra.

ABS 2000, Australian System of National Accounts: Concepts, Sources and Methods, cat. no. 5216.0, ABS, Canberra.

ATO (Australian Taxation Office) 2011, Taxation Statistics 2010-11: Personal tax, Table 1 Selected items for income years 1978-79 to 2010-11. Available from

http://www.ato.gov.au/uploadedFiles/Content/CR/Research_and_statistics/In_detail/Downloads/cor00345977_2011IND1.xlsx


Further information

A corresponding data confrontation for wealth is presented separately in an appendix in Household Wealth and Wealth Distribution, 2011-12 (cat. no. 6554.0).