Agricultural schemes on the election agenda
An association representing 110,000 investors in tax-effective schemes is mounting a campaign to put tax issues relating to the schemes on the agenda for this year’s federal election.
The Australian Managed Investments Association (AMIA) accuses the Australian Tax Office (ATO) of "relentless money-grabbing assaults" and is planning to deliver a national petition to Parliament demanding the ATO changes its rulings on agricultural schemes.
AMIA has written to its 700 members, financial advisers and project managers to encourage them to get as many signatures as possible on the petition before it is delivered to Parliament in early March. The association is also to run a national roadshow, visiting every Federal Parliament electorate starting in February.
AMIA administrator Melanie Power says the association hopes to complete the roadshow in three weeks.
"The roadshow will enable people to get information on the ATO disallowing tax deductions on these schemes," she says.
"It will also enable people to be able to sign the petition as we gear up our public relations campaign against the ATO moves."
AMIA chairman George Gear says the Government approach to tax-effective schemes has been "grossly misunderstood".
"This is an opportunity for the association to present a case for the investors who are the victims of relentless money-grabbing assaults by the ATO," he says.
"Many of these investors have invested into these projects after having received advice from their financial advisors and accountants, and this was after having reviewed the ASIC-approved prospectus containing opinions from the top accounting and legal firms around Australia."
The ATO has been reassessing a number of tax-effective schemes sold during the 1990s and issuing investors with penalties for the deductions they claimed. Many of these investors are being hit with penalties of up to 50 per cent of the amended assessment.
According to the AMIA, the tax-effective industry invests at least $500 million into regional centres and $250 million a year into associated industries. It directly employs 4000 people and has more than 110,000 investors throughout Australia.
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