FARMERS in northwest Victoria are ricocheting from the Federal Budget to the Federal Election – and not too many of them are happy about how either one is going.
Issues such as the instant asset write-off, diesel rebate, and transport and energy are high on their lists of concerns.
Leonard Vallance, who runs a cropping and beef cattle enterprise south of Ouyen, said he hoped whoever gets into government makes sure the 25c reduction in diesel goes through and “they can actually do it without mucking it up”.
Mr Vallance said “Canberra has made a mess of the rebate system and all they have done is create more paperwork”.
He said he was also “very worried” if the Albanese government remained in power courtesy of an alliance with the Greens and/or Teals we would be hit with death taxes.
“I don’t think there is any doubt that sort of government would immediately bring in a death tax and that would play havoc with succession planning on farms,” Mr Vallance said.
“If the Coalition wins, I also seriously expect it to live up to the pledges of people such as Senator Jacinta Price and clean out the bloated public service and put an end to the incredible waste of taxpayer money we are seeing now,” he added.
“And we have to do something about energy urgently – especially gas and nuclear – because if the current prices are the Labor government’s ideas of cheap energy, then we are going to be in real trouble.”
Scott Anderson, who has a cropping/sheep operation, also near Ouyen, has condemned the looming loss of the instant asset write-off.
A disappointment backed by the Certified Practicing Accountants of Australia, whose chief executive Chris Freeland said it was a vital tool for small business which should never have become a political football.
Mr Freeland said the CPA supports the Coalition promise to make the instant asset write-off permanent, not a convenient tool of leverage for political gain.
He said CPA Australia “welcomes Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s promise to make the instant asset write-off permanent and increase the limit to $30,000 if it wins the Federal Election”.
“The announcement comes after the government failed to address the future of instant asset write-offs in the federal Budget,” Mr Freeland explained.
“As it stands, the current $20,000 measure, which was passed by the Senate, will expire on July 1 and revert to just $1000 for businesses with revenue up to $10 million a year.
“The instant asset write-off provides a vital opportunity for small businesses to invest and grow.
“As a temporary measure only, it has not been utilised as much as it could have.
“Small businesses in particular need policy certainty to make informed investment decisions, especially when they involve significant financial commitments.
“The practice of legislating this measure annually has created uncertainty and has discouraged investment at a time when many businesses are keen to take advantage of such incentives.
“The instant asset write-off has been a low-hanging fruit that small businesses have been hoping to utilise; but many have resisted because of the fear that it would be taken away.
“Businesses cannot operate like this.”
Mr Anderson agreed, saying the write-off was something which had proved “very handy” to upgrade farming equipment.
“For me there was nothing positive in the budget for the farming industry – it is just more of the same,” he said.
“Just look around regional Victoria, and regional Australia, at our road and rail networks, that was a huge hole in this budget because there really wasn’t anything there.
“It was so disappointing, because we have to get road and rail repaired and more efficient to make farming more efficient.
“And look what is happening to the live sheep export industry, there has been no real thought about the long-term impact on this business and the funding to force farmers out of it is pitiful.”
Both Mr Anderson and Mr Vallance also agree there needs to be more emphasis on an investment allowance for equipment, especially with the weak Australian dollar significantly driving up costs of big ticket items.
