Australia: Blueberry cooperative slams backpacker tax
The northern New South Wales township of Woolgoolga could suffer "devastating effects" if the Federal Government goes ahead with proposed working holiday visa tax rates from July 1, a blueberry sector representative has told Australia's national radio network.
Speaking with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Oz Group Co-op director Ganesh Singh said farmers were awaiting a review into the measure, which has proposed getting rid of the AUD$18,200 tax-free threshold for backpacker labor.
Under the scheme, backpacker pickers - which make up the majority of farm labor in the area - would be taxed at a rate of 32.5%.
"Our hope is that the Federal Government will heed the recommendations of this review and that 19 per cent is what is proposed," Singh told the ABC.
"We are just hoping that the Federal Government actually thinks about the impact to regional communities of this tax because it would devastating for towns like ours if our growing industry isn't allowed to grow to its full potential," he said, adding some blueberries might have to go to waste without enough labor to pick them.
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