National Farmers’ Federation says ag sector is “breathing a sigh of relief” after super tax Bill hits delay

The National Farmers’ Federation has welcomed the halt of a controversial tax on superannuation after it failed to pass the Senate in the last sitting week of the year. The Division 296 tax is a part of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions and Other Measures) Bill 2023. Under the amendment, anyone with more than $3 million in their superannuation fund will have to pay capital gains tax of 15 per cent if their property goes up in value. However, the Albanese Government failed to secure crossbench support to pass the Bill during Parliament’s last sitting session, effectively leaving the proposed amendment in limbo until sitting resumes in February. NFF president David Jochinke welcomed the halting of the Bill and said the superannuation tax would have “spelled disaster” for Australia’s farming families. “Thousands of farms across Australia are held in self-managed superannuation funds so they can be leased to the next generation, providing both retirement income and an opportunity for the next generation to take over the business,” he said. “The farm sector is particularly worried that the taxation of ‘unrealised gains’ may force primary producers to sell their farm just to pay off their new tax bill.” Research by the University of Adelaide, commissioned by the Self Managed Super Fund Association, found the proposed superannuation tax would have affected more than 3500 SMSFs holding farming land on the first day of the Bill’s implementation. “The NFF thanks the crossbench Senators who have taken the time to understand the impacts of the Super Tax Bill and stood up for the interests of Aussie farmers and other small business owners,” Mr Jochinke said. Nationals leader David Littleproud slammed the proposed superannuation tax as “bad policy” and vowed the Coalition Government would scrap the Bill if elected. “Labor has shown callous disregard for our farmers and thought it would be OK to tax them for on-paper gains during a cost-of-living crisis,” he said. “Throughout the process, Labor proved they have no understanding of the vagaries of farmers’ cash loss that are impacted by not just weather but commodity prices.”