The Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF), along with its industry member organisations and the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF), has launched a national campaign encouraging the Federal Government not to proceed with the proposed ‘backpacker tax’. The proposed tax stands to affect Queensland’s agriculture workforce and the prosperity of our regional communities.
The #backpackertax campaign will comprise an online petition and social media aimed at harnessing community support for a softening of changes to the way working holiday makers (backpackers) are taxed.
The backpacker tax, announced in the 2015 Budget, states that from 1 July 2016 all working holiday makers are to be taxed as non-residents at a rate of 32.5 per cent on all income.
QFF President Stuart Armitage stated that the backpacker tax will affect industries and communities that rely upon backpacker labour to satisfy demand during peak harvesting periods.
“Queensland agriculture industries such as cotton and horticulture are already feeling the effects of this reduction in international workers with the current trend of 12 per cent fewer backpacker arrivals to Australia each year,”
“Without labour to get the crop in and out of the ground farmers will be under serious threat of losing their businesses.”
Chair of the NFF Workforce Productivity Committee, Charlie Armstrong, said each year, backpackers contribute around $3.5 billion to the Australian economy and around 40,000 find employment on Australian farms,”
“Taxing backpackers at a rate of 32.5 per cent will make work in Australian agriculture a highly unprofitable proposition.
“Already we are seeing signs that the proposed tax rate of 32.5 per cent is scaring working holiday makers away from Australia. In nations like Canada and New Zealand, they are just as likely to be able to find farm work that attracts substantially lower amounts of taxation.
Stuart Armitage continued by stating that QFF and its industry members will not sit idly by while the viability of certain agricultural industries and communities are challenged,”
“The Federal government is showing poor judgement by proposing changes that will undermine the future of cotton, fruit and vegetable industries in Queensland.”
“We cannot allow the current lose-lose-lose situation where the backpackers stop coming, the growers and farmers are affected and the local rural economies are put in unnecessary jeopardy.”
“We urge farmers and other industry stakeholders as well as the broader Queensland public to join us in demonstrating the importance of backpackers to agriculture, tourism and the regions by signing our online petition.”
To join the petition go to https://www.change.org/p/australian-government-stop-the-backpacker-tax