Statements
Axed Backpacker Tax Plans a Relief
We welcome the back down on the higher backpacker tax and hope that there is still time for the government to run a positive campaign to inform would be seasonal workers visiting the state that the unfair tax has been reconsidered.
The industry has stated that visitor bookings are already down for the year, and that even in good years there is still a nervous wait to ensure there are enough willing workers to harvest crops in Tasmania.
This has been an unnecessarily unsettling period for already strained primary producers and an example of a government taxation policy that impacts unfairly on the less wealthy.
In the future all Governments need to look at taxation reforms that are equitable and do not stifle economic growth.
The backpacker tax fits neither of these criteria, and the fact that the proposal got even this far is absurd.
Andrea Dawkins MP | Greens Primary Industries Spokesperson