The Deputy Prime Minister and the Assistant Agriculture and Water Resources Minister have announced a review into taxation arrangements for the Working Holiday Maker visa program.
The review’s scope will cover taxation and superannuation arrangements under the program.
The review is intended to ensure the right measures are in place to support the two key growth sectors of agriculture and tourism.
“We know about 40,000 backpackers work in agriculture for a few months each year, the majority in horticulture at seasonal peaks,” Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said.
“The clear aim is to make sure we have a balanced and equitable approach to the tax status for workers here on visas – we do not want to risk a slide into black market employment in agriculture and tourism,” Assistant Minister Anne Ruston said.
This means that the ‘backpacker tax’, as announced, would see backpackers who work in the agricultural industry during harvest time being taxed at 32.5% from their first dollar of income.
Last month, the National Farmers Federation issued a media release slamming the tax and its negative effect on the agricultural industry, which relies heavily on backpackers. It pleaded for a more reasonable tax of about 19%.
