Daniel Fox

This labour government has decided taxing imaginary things is a good idea. But, if they get away with it and pass this law, they won't stop at taxing unrealised capital gains in superfunds over $3 million. Their insane tax programme will be expanded. This new cook-up is just a Trojan horse. It just attacks a very small and obscure area of the financial world. They expect very little resistance form the public, and very little opposition from the people paid to provide opposition. Similar things have been done in the UK, and it has caused chaos. Millionaires, business people, entrepreneurs and productive people are leaving the country in droves. They’re running to places where they feel more welcome. They take opportunity with them. There are many areas where this dangerous new tax on a concept rather than actual money will have deep impact. It hits the stock market, as well as property market which will in fact impact everyone’s super not just the wealthy. Most importantly this will impact food production. Big chunks of land tend to appreciate in value. The value increase has been accelerating as the value of the dollar declines. This means family farms, held in super accounts, will be taxed heavily.  Because value is relative and imaginary, there is no clear formula or predictability to the scale and timing of capital gains. Somebody will have to pay the cash tax, on an asset not sold. The imagined gain. Ludicrous. There are two ways this can be achieved, through using profits from operating the farm, or selling the farm. So many family farms invest everything they have into fences, feed, seed, fuel and equipment. When conditions are good, there is some money to be made, when the two major supermarkets are not busy pummelling them. There is even the odd export dollar. But it is not as if it isn’t already hard enough for family farmers here in Australia. Between the droughts and flooding rain,  they fight to keep their farm lands free of power lines and electricity windmills. Fighting pests and regulations. Fighting to pay the energy bills. Fighting for access to water. Now they will be fighting to pay for imagined gains with real cash. This means an increase in the cost of food for the rest of us. That, and more corporatism in the farming sector, as more family farms are gobbled up by foreign corporations and big capital. Bad leaders can cause shortages where there was once effortless abundance. Albanese, Chalmers and friends are bad leaders. Short sighted and greedy. Playing divisive politics, as they seemingly tax the rich to give to the poor. The reality is they will just destroy more decent Aussie family farms, and everything that goes with it.  The rest of us will pay more for our food. Australia can’t afford three years of this nonsense. No farmers, no food. I just want Australia back.