Wrong MIS Trees Axed

Bob Loone

It seems ironic to disallow horticultural MIS, which apart from the damage they do to legitimate farmers, are sustainable and do not destroy local communities, while giving a huge boost to plantation forestry which diminishes or destroys, jobs, farms, communities, economic viability, water, health, sense of place, tourism, and is an environmental nightmare.

Forestry’s large permanent political lobby operation in Canberra has hit the jackpot yet again.

The tax avoidance driven, buy-up of almost every farm that comes on the market by Managed Investment Scheme (MIS) forestry plantation corporations, is receiving another huge boost because of the disallowance of horticultural MIS (olives, apricots, walnuts, truffles etc.)

This means MIS operations which are sustainable and retaining some jobs being axed, while plantation forestry which is unsustainable and destroys farms, jobs, environment, and economy gets a huge boost. Many of those who would normally “invest” in the horticultural MIS will now give money to plantation forestry MIS in order to get 100% tax deductibility.

Interestingly there is an initial cost to taxpayers in tax avoidance of $3000 for each hectare of good farmland purchased by MIS corporations, and that’s only the start.

It seems ironic to disallow horticultural MIS, which apart from the damage they do to legitimate farmers, are sustainable and do not destroy local communities, while giving a huge boost to plantation forestry which diminishes or destroys, jobs, farms, communities, economic viability, water, health, sense of place, tourism, and is an environmental nightmare.

Forestry’s large permanent political lobby operation in Canberra has hit the jackpot yet again.

Can I suggest it would be much less damaging to be disallowing the 100% tax exemption on forestry plantation MIS and retain it on horticultural MIS.

Why is it that common sense and politics very rarely meet?

Bob Loone

President

Western Rivers Preservation Trust

9th February 2007