Australian Tax Gaps: Historical Estimates and Trends

Australian Taxation Office data provides estimates of the tax gap, the difference between collected tax and the amount expected under full compliance. The dataset includes current and historical estimates published in ATO annual reports and on its website. A technical guide PDF accompanies the Excel data to aid interpretation.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in tax compliance over time based on historical tax gap estimates
• Evaluate the performance of specific tax or superannuation systems using the gap insights
• Model potential revenue impacts of policy changes using the gap as a baseline

Strengths

• Data is produced by the authoritative Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
• Includes a technical guide PDF for understanding the methodology
• License is CC-BY-2.5, allowing for reuse

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment

Provenance

Source

Australian Taxation Office

Collection Method

Likely contains estimates derived from ATO administrative data and compliance activities.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 01:00:18.238755; freshness should be verified

Geography

Australia