Flood Levy Facts

As part of the Gillard Labor Government's response to the immense national challenge of rebuilding flood-affected regions across Australia, the Government will apply a temporary flood levy in the 2011-12 financial year, to assist with part of the costs of rebuilding infrastructure following the recent floods.

The levy will recognize capacity to pay. It will be designed so that low income earners do not pay anything. Higher income earners will be expected to pay a bit more. The levy will apply at 0.5 per cent of taxable income in excess of $50,000, and 1 per cent of taxable income in excess of $100,000. No levy is payable where the person has income of $50,000 or less.

So for someone with an income of $60,000, the levy will amount to 96 cents per week. For someone with an income of $80, 000, the levy will amount to $2.88 per week.

People will make their levy payments through the tax taken out of their regular pay in the same way they pay the Medicare levy.

The Government considers that those most affected by the floods have already incurred financial costs and will not ask them to contribute to the recovery and reconstruction costs through this levy. Those people who receive an Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment for a flood event in 2010-11 will be exempt from the levy.

Why is a levy necessary?

A lot of Australians have supported individuals during the flood crisis through generous donations.

These will help fellow Australians get their flood affected homes and lives back in order.

But billions of dollars are still needed to fix vital infrastructure such as roads and bridges damaged by the floods and storms.

The Commonwealth will meet two-thirds of these repair costs through budget cuts. The other third will be covered through the modest and temporary levy.

Flood Levy Calculator

A Flood Levy Calculator has been created by the Treasury to assist in calculating the cost for each income level. You can download a the Flood Levy Calculator on the Treasury website.