Part 4/10:
One common assertion is that Liberals maintain lower taxes than Labor. To investigate this, we analyze the tax-to-GDP ratio over the past 50 years. Labor's average tax burden under Whitlam stood at 18.9%, while Malcolm Fraser's Liberals imposed a slightly higher ratio of 20.7%. Despite some fluctuations, the Liberal government saw the highest tax burden in the case of John Howard, averaging at 23.4%. Under Labor's Rudd and Gillard governments, the average tax burden dropped to 20.8%, and resumed an upward trajectory to 22.3% under Abbott, Turnbull, and Morrison.
Thus, the data reveals that statistically, taxes have often been higher under Liberal governments, challenging the blanket assertion that taxes are always lower under Liberal administrations.