WAIVING of stamp duty costs on multi-peril crop insurance, which could add up to thousands of dollars in farmers’ back pockets, has been proposed by the state opposition.
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There has been growing interest in multi-peril crop insurance in recent years, as it protects against a range of agricultural risks including drought and frost.
Last week state Liberal leader Steven Marshall said if his party was elected to government in 2018, stamp duty for farmers purchasing multi-peril crop insurance would be waived.
Any relief on tax and levies is always welcome.
- DAVID MALPAS
“We want to back the people who are doing everything they can to create employment and exports out of our state,” he said.
Opposition agriculture spokesperson David Ridgway said the saving would depend on the value of the insurance premium. At the moment, SA farmers pay an 11 per cent stamp duty on insurance premiums.
“Say the average price of the insurance was $20 a hectare,” he said.
“The saving would be about $2/ha, so if you’re insuring 1000ha, you’ll be saving a couple of thousand dollars.”
Mr Ridgway said SA was paying the highest stamp duty costs in the nation.
“This product helps farmers manage their own risk,” he said.
“Primary producers don’t need the government charging them an extra 11pc on what they’re already paying, just to manage their own risk.”
Mr Ridgway said the benefits of waiving the stamp duty fee would flow, not only to farmers, but also to regional communities.
“When a farmer has a bad year, it also affects businesses in the town,” he said.
“Multi-peril insurance underpins production costs, so it should also help underpin local businesses.
“In the northern hemisphere farmers receive government subsidies for inputs and while there’s no appetite for that here, let’s at least not charge a tax on something that helps farmers to manage their production risk.”
Lucindale farmer and Grain Producers SA director David Malpas said he had not looked at multi-peril crop insurance himself but any relief on stamp duty would be good.
“Multi-peril insurance certainly has its place,” he said.
“Any relief on tax and levies is always welcome.
“It all adds up to make multi-peril insurance more affordable.
“This relief would mean farmers would be able to better utilise the product.”
