A CAMPAIGN has been launched to encourage the Federal government not to proceed with the proposed backpacker tax which will erode the agriculture workforce and the prosperity of regional communities.
The #backpackertax campaign will comprise an online petition and social media aimed at harnessing community support for a softening of changes to the way working holiday makers (backpackers) are taxed.
The tax changes announced in the 2015 Budget deem that from July 1, 2016 all working holiday makers are to be taxed as non-residents at a rate of 32.5 per cent on all income.
The National Farmers Federation agrees backpackers should pay tax, however, it considers an effective tax rate of 19 per cent, achieved through deactivation of the tax-free threshold, to be fairer for both backpackers and industry.
- To join the petition go to https://www.change.org/p/australian-government-stop-the-backpacker-tax
