Taxation statistics tell below-average tale

WESTERN Australians don't give like their east coast counterparts.

The statistics and anecdotal evidence show that, despite its booming wealth and long-admired standard of living, the state's residents just don't give like those in other states.

Australian Taxation Office statistics are one of the best guides to how we give and across the board WA fails to beat the averages.

In fact, the only area where the state crept above double figures in the 2005-06 tax year was in the number of taxpayers who did not seek a deduction for a gift, with more than 11 per cent of those falling into this category from WA.

At the other end of the scale, of those to claim gifts worth 10 per cent or more of their income, about 8.7 per cent of them were Western Australians contributing just 7.1 per cent of the total for that segment nationally, a figure that suggest we simply don't pull our weight in this regard.

Take a step further and, of the taxpayers claiming gifts of $25,000 or more, those from WA were less than 8 per cent of the group and claimed less than 7 per cent of the total given.

Those in the field believe WA is behind largely for historical reasons.

"It is the high net worth individuals who are not engaged in WA and Queensland," said Myles McGregor-Lowndes, director of Queensland University of Technology's Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies in Brisbane.

"It is more in Sydney and Melbourne, amongst high net worth individuals, that giving is more normalised behaviour."

Mr McGregor-Lowndes said there had been a concerted effort by opinion leaders in the bigger east coast cities to put philanthropy on the agenda.

He notes there also differences between the big capitals, with Melbourne's philanthropy being more traditional whereas Sydney's has been driven by a desire to catch-up with their southern rival.

Philanthropy Australia CEO Gina Anderson is another who has noted the difference between the various states, with Victorian philanthropy leading the nation through the wealthy of Melbourne.

"They are very different giving environments," Ms Anderson said.

"Melbourne has a much longer tradition of organised and structured philanthropic giving."

That tradition, according to Ms Anderson, was partly due to the state allowing the establishment of trusts and funds several decades ago to avoid death duties once prevalent across Australia.

Of course Victoria was, until the middle of the last century, the home of much of Australia's wealth and its major companies. It has slipped in that regard, but still has many family dynasties that support philanthropy and promote it.

As Australia's modern corporate headquarters, Sydney's philanthropy tends to be more corporate.

"I think Perth and Brisbane are going to be more like Sydney rather than Melbourne," Ms Anderson said.

Of course there is one big aberration in the giving stakes. That is the historic success of 24-hour fund raising events held annually by Perth television stations, which have consistently earned more per capita than anywhere else in Australia and are generally given world-leading status.

Anecdotally, WA audiences are not just regarded as the most generous during the events, but are also understood to be more likely to meet promised obligations once the excitement of the show has ended.

Channel Seven's Telethon is acknowledged as one the longest running and most successful events of its kind a1lmost anywhere, having raised $80 million since 1968, including $7.5 million this year.

The most obvious recipient of that largesse is the Telethon Child Health Research Institute, now one of the state's premier medical research organisations.

Rival station Channel Nine has Appealathon, which has raised $53 million since 1975.