457 workers lift tax take

TEMPORARY migrants employed to make up for Western Australia’s skills shortage are providing a boost to the federal government’s bank balance.

Research from Edith Cowan University has found that workers employed on 457 visas are paying significantly more tax than their Australian colleagues working in every sector of the resources industry.

The study - held to highlight the costs and benefits of employing foreign workers - found migrants employed in road transport jobs were paying 33 per cent more tax than domestic workers.

The difference in the building construction field was 23 per cent, while foreign workers in mining jobs paid between 13 and 18 per cent more.

With the tally of457 workers in WA increasing by 75 per cent in the 2010-11 financial year, to 19,430, the result would be a welcome cash injection to government funds.

The study also claimed that projections of an annual intake of 300,000 skilled workers by 2050 would increase the country’s national income per capita by 87 per cent.

Despite that benefit, the use of skilled migrants for resources projects in particular has been heavily criticised, evidenced last week by the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union’s lambasting of Chevron’s agreement with the government to import 150 foreign workers if it can’t find enough locally.

But the ECU study, which was produced in partnership with the Australian Mines and Metals Association, found despite skilled workers being available on the east coast, they were reluctant to relocate.

It said east coast workers identified as suitable for roles in WA were reluctant to move away from family, and considered the infrastructure in both Perth and regional areas to be unsatisfactory.

There were also reports that they held unrealistic salary expectations and incorrect perceptions of living costs.

The study found the high wages offered more than compensated for higher-than-aver-age prices on everyday items and costs.

The ratio of household income to expenditure in WA was the lowest of all the states in the 2009-10 financial year at 69 per cent, which the study said indicated that the cost of living was relatively low.

“Furthermore, the figure shows that living costs in WA can be easily compensated by the high household income of resource workers, and hence, could attract more Australians from other states,” the study said.