Letter to the Editor: When regional businesses are not considered ‘regional’

Dear Editor, 

Most Queenslanders would reasonably assume that if a business operates in a Regional Council area, it is considered a regional business. 

So it beggars belief that some Queensland horticulture businesses have discovered recently that they don't qualify for the Queensland Government's Regional Employer Payroll Tax Discount. 

These are businesses producing fresh food in regional Queensland, employing people who at the time are living and spending their hard-earned money in regional communities, yet under the current rules they are treated differently because of technical definitions and arbitrary boundaries. 

It simply doesn't pass the common-sense test. 

Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers has spent months raising these concerns directly with the Queensland Government. We've shared examples from affected businesses. We've sought opportunities to engage constructively and asked for one simple thing: a review of the policy settings. 

Despite those efforts, the Queensland Government has yet to commit to a review. 

This isn't about avoiding tax. Growers understand their obligations and support a fair tax system. What they don't support is a policy designed to encourage regional employment and economic growth that fails to recognise the realities of how a horticultural business operates.  

At the very same time the Queensland Government is investing more money into compliance and enforcement activities, it has shown little willingness to examine whether the rules themselves are still fit for purpose. 

Some growers are now facing assessments for up to five years of retrospective payroll tax, along with interest and penalties. If businesses are being pursued for years of back taxes, it raises the question of whether the Government should have identified and addressed these issues much earlier. 

Surely that's getting the priorities the wrong way around. 

Good public policy isn't just about enforcing the rules. It's about making sure the rules are fair, practical, and capable of being understood by the businesses expected to comply with them. 

Queensland growers aren't asking for a handout or special treatment. They're asking the Government to acknowledge that the current settings are creating unintended consequences, sit down with industry and commit to a genuine review. 

The Government doesn't have to agree with every concern growers raise. But it should at least be willing to review a policy that is clearly leaving regional businesses questioning whether it still reflects its original purpose. 

Scott Kompo-Harms 
Chief Executive Officer 
Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers