Backpacker tax a step in the right direction but uncertainty remains
NT Farmers CEO Mr. Shenal Basnayake welcomed the Federal Governments delay to the backpacker tax issue but noted that this was only the start of a journey that needed to address workforce issues in the farming sector and still didn’t bring about any certainty for growers in the Northern Territory.
Mr. Basnayake stated that what was important now was what Government did whilst the delay was in effect. Mr. Basnayake stated that the Government needed to do several things, one is to ensure that sound modelling is undertaken to understand the accuracy of the proposed revenue figure, two the implications of the tax on working holiday maker numbers and three the impact on the agriculture and tourism sectors, all which are complex issues.
Mr. Basnayake further noted that he was looking forward to working with the Government on this matter, particularly to ensure that the unique circumstances faced in the Northern Territory was not lost in national modelling, to this effect Mr. Basnayake calls on the Government to ensure that it undertakes separate jurisdictional modelling to take into consideration the individual circumstances of each State and Territory.
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