What we learned today, Friday 27 June
We will wrap up the live blog for the night right here. This is what made the news today:
Australian superannuation funds have been spared a multibillion-dollar hit after the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, announced they would drop a so-called “revenge tax” on foreign investors.
Far-right white supremacist group Terrorgram has been listed as a terrorist organisation.
The shadow defence minister, Angus Taylor, said he does not support quotas to bring women into the Liberal party because “I don’t believe in subverting democratic processes”.
The judge in Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial said jurors can use her alleged lies to assess her credibility but warned them not to equate lying with guilt. The trial enters its 10th week next week, with the jury expected to soon go into deliberations.
The media regulator has refused to change the rules to allow more alcohol ads to be shown during children’s television viewing hours.
The Australian online safety regulator has urged schools to report deepfakes to police, as the number of reports of deepfake nude images of people under 18 more than doubled in the past 18 months.
Woolworths Group is closing its MyDeal shopping site just three years after paying more than $200m for a controlling stake in the online business.
Staffers for the NSW premier, Chris Minns, were queried at an inquiry on the premier’s focus on calling the caravan “fake” terrorism plot terrorism in a press conference earlier this year.
Police confirmed a woman was injured as she and four others were arrested by police during a protest outside a business in Sydney’s west on Friday morning.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, is expected to join a meeting of her Quad counterparts in Washington DC next week.
Ten passengers and eight crew members from a luxury cruise have been rescued from a remote uninhabited island off the northern coast of Australia.
Thanks for following along. Until next time, enjoy your evening.
Updated
Surgeon remains highest paid occupation in the country
Continuing on this report, while delayed by nearly two years, the annual taxation statistics provide an insight into who pays tax and how much they pay, alongside a range of other insights.
For example, the report revealed the country’s more than 4,200 surgeons were once again in the highest paid occupation, with an average reportable income of $472,475.
They were followed by anaesthetists, with an average taxable income of $447,193, and financial dealers, who reported average earnings of $355,233 in 2022-23.
The well-known wealthiest suburbs in Sydney’s eastern suburbs had the highest average taxable incomes.
Those living in postcode 2027, which includes Darling Point, Edgecliff and Point Piper, earned on average just shy of $280,000 a year.
Or at least that’s what was reported as taxable.
There was also evidence in the ATO stats of how even very high earners are escaping paying any income tax.
There were 91 individuals who earned over $1m in 2022-23 and paid no income tax, according to analysis by The Australia Institute.
They claimed a total of $390m in deductions to reduce their income below the tax-free threshold of $18,200 a year to avoid paying the taxman.
These individuals claimed $62.8m in deductions for paying accountants and lawyers to manage their tax affairs, at an average of $690,815 each, according to the analysis.
Updated
