Call to decide on backpacker tax or scrap it

The new president of the Victorian Farmers Federation has called on the government to make a decision on the backpacker tax or scrap the changes entirely.

David Jochinke was sworn into the job late last week and has been quick off the plate to urge the government to quit stalling on the issue.

‘‘It’s gone on too long and it’s caused a lot of heartache,’’ Mr Jochinke said.

‘‘If they can’t resolve it to a sensible rate they should scrap it.’’

The tax was originally meant to start this month, but was delayed during the election campaign while the government conducts a review on the policy.

The tax is due to start in January next year, and if it is unaltered it would hit backpacker workers with a 32.5 per cent tax on every dollar earned in Australia.

Despite the tax being pushed on to the backburner, Mr Jochinke said the uncertainty about it was causing problems throughout the agriculture industry.

‘‘These delays have not solved the issue,’’ he said.

‘‘There is no certainty, do they put effort into growing a productive crop only to see it rot on the vines?’’

Mr Jochinke feared if the tax was introduced in its original form it would be the worst of both worlds for government and the industry.

He predicts backpackers will avoid Australia in droves, harming agriculture that relies on their labour, and the government would miss out on the proposed revenue from the tax, but if the tax was not scrapped, he said a compromised rate could be reached, but it would need to be lower than 32.5 per cent.

‘‘I would consider 19 (per cent) too high, anything greater than zero and less than 15 is a fairer compromise,’’ he said.