Farmers want Govt to withdraw tax bill

Press, 27 October 1982, Page 3

Farmers want Govt to withdraw tax bill

Farming leaders in North Canterbury have urged the Government to withdraw the Income Tax Amendment (No. 2) Bill, now before Parliament.

The provincial executive of • North CanterburyFederated Farmers voted unanimously yesterday to urge the ' Government to withdraw the bill, which seeks to put into legislative effect changes in farm investment taxation announced in this year’s Budget. “The bill still legislates against the genuine farmer. ” said the junior vice-presi-dent. Mr M. R. Murchison. “The bill does not achieve what the Government intends." he said.

He questioned whether the problem of outside finance creating distortions within the farming industries was as severe as the Government seemed to believe. Mr P. G. Morrison, of Sheffield, said the Government had already "slaughtered" the provisions announced in the Budget and that the economic climate was now doing what the Government had intended to

do by legislation. “We want everyone we can get to invest in farming." he said.

The North Canterbury provincial president. Mr A. L. Mulholland, said that under the new amendment a great deal was left to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue and future rulings would depend on the mood of the commissioner of the dav.

Sir William Dunlop agreed that it was unfair to put the commissioner in such a position. He said that legislation in this area had proved impossible to draft in the past, and it was proving to be the case again.

Mr Murchison said that it was important that pressure be brought to bear on the Government, at national and local levels. Farmers had indicated to him various areas of concern with the new income tax amendment. They included the effect on amalgamation of land by farmers and the sale of small parcels of land surplus to requirements, the writing down of livestock values, the position of a farmer caught by adversity (such as in a Canterbury drought), the position of family estates and sales of property within families, the bringing in of an outside partner, the need for multiple stepping-stone units for developing farmers, and the sale of land because of a change in land use on the outskirts of cities.