Federal Member for Parkes Jamie Chaffey said farmers in the Parkes electorate have had an enormous win, after Labor retreated on its poorly conceived, reckless and cruel plan to tax unrealised gains on farms held in self-managed super funds (SMSFs).
Mr Chaffey said Labor had been forced to give in, after The Nationals and industry campaigned against the unfair plan and Labor faced a backlash in the Parkes electorate.
“Labor’s plan to punish farmers and small business owners in regional Australia and attack their unrealised gains in superannuation was a shockingly ignorant move targeting people Australia depends on for food and fibre, and so much more,” Mr Chaffey said.
“Many families in the Parkes electorate have done the right thing and set up SMSFs as their future retirement and for succession planning, with no idea this could happen.
“Labor could never even tell us how many primary producers, small and family-business owners would have been impacted – or how badly. When is it okay to tax on-paper, unrealised gains? It’s a clear money grab at the heart of our country.
“Our primary producers are at the mercy of not just weather but commodity prices during bad seasons. Labor’s plan could have forced farmers to sell their land, instead of passing it onto their families.
“It is a huge relief to hear Labor have seen sense and backflipped on this outlandish policy.
“And while this decision is the right decision, it will create a black hole of $4.2 billion in the budget. How will Labor fill it? If it is another tax, we will be ensuring we stand up for regional Australia.”