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THE Victorian Farmers Federation says Victoria’s young farmers have been betrayed by the state government’s stamp duty exemption scheme.
Under the scheme a young farmer buying $300,000 of land is exempt from paying stamp duty of $13,070.
But if the same young farmer purchases a property worth more than $400,000, they must pay the $13,070 on the first $300,000 worth of land, plus $6000 on the remaining $100,000 – a total of $19,070.
VFF president Andrew Broad said the scheme failed to deliver a key Coalition promise.
“(What) we got was a scheme that phases down the exemption to zero once the farm is worth more than $400,000. It’s absurd. It’s a betrayal,” Mr Broad said.
Young Serpentine farmer Prue Addlem said the $400,000 threshold was “ridiculous.”
“We were promised a scheme that exempted young farmers from paying any stamp duty on the first $300,000, no matter what the farm was worth,” Ms Addlem said.
“If the government had delivered on its promise every young farmer buying their first farm would have saved $13,070,” she said.
“You couldn’t even buy a hobby farm for $300,000.”
The scheme also excludes young farmers from gaining the exemption because they were part of their parents’ family trust, which already owned a farm.
Gunbower farmer Daniel Tuohey believes the scheme makes it more difficult for young farmers like himself to start out on their own.
The 28-year-old found out he was not eligible for the exemption as the block he planned to buy in September last year was worth more than $300,000 and he was listed as a beneficiary of his family trust.
“The family trust has nothing to do with me, my name is on it and that’s about it, I’ve never received any money from it... and $300,000, that doesn’t buy you anything.”
While Mr Touhey bought the block, he said his budget was “blown out” by missing out on the exemption.
Mr Tuohey believes the general idea behind the scheme was on the right track, but that it
should cater to more farmers.
“The government doesn’t have a very good understanding of what’s required to be able to make a living.
“The scheme looks good on paper but once you get into it, it’s not,” he said.
“I don’t think it will act as a deterrent for young farmers but it’s going to make it harder for them to start off.
‘‘The sooner it’s changed, the better.”
Mr Broad pointed out the contrast between the scheme and the First Home Owner Grant. Victoria’s first-home buyers can receive first-home owner grants of $7000 (on properties worth up to $750,000), plus another $13,000 if they buy a new home.
“It hardly seems fair,” Mr Broad said.
Mr Broad said the government was pumping $444 million into stamp duty exemptions for first home buyers over the next four years but had only handed over $480,000 of the $3 million promised in young farmer stamp duty exemptions for this financial year.
“The contrast between the two schemes couldn’t be starker,” Mr Broad said.
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