The rise of industry levies – narrowly applied, sector-specific taxes – is creating an increasingly complex and inefficient tax system that risks limiting productivity growth.

This report finds that the number of these industry levies has quietly grown from 26 to 248 since 1980 to become the ‘long tail’ of Australia’s tax system, collecting less than 2% of overall tax revenue.

While many levies are nominally collected to cover the cost of government regulation or mitigate environmental costs, these goals could often be pursued more effectively and efficiently through the broader tax system.