Farmers with cellar doors and fruit stands should beware of huge new bills being slapped on them by the state government, NSW Farmers says.
Reports have spiked of family farmers being forced to pay up to $300,000 in land taxes to the NSW government for diversifying their businesses with small farmgate sales and agritourism experiences.
Typically, farmland has been exempted from these taxes as it has been used to produce food and fibre for the nation – but NSW Farmers’ Business Economics and Trade Committee Chair John Lowe said it was clear farmers were now being penalised for selling what they grew.
‘Between drought, flood and every other challenge we face on farm, it’s become harder and harder to make a living on the land – and that means farmers have had to adapt and diversify to simply survive,’ Mr Lowe said.
‘Governments have encouraged this activity as a means to spread risk and deal with drought, natural disaster and other challenges – and we’ve loved seeing people from all over enjoy our cellar doors or cherry-picking adventures on farm.
‘But now, we’ve been punished for innovating, diversifying, and opening our doors to our friends in the cities – and it could spell the end for many of our family farms.’
Statement of expectations
Yesterday NSW Farmers launched a statement of expectations to outline the series of practical changes to primary production land taxes needed to ensure a future for farming.
With farm input costs expected to rise by a further five per cent in 2026, Mr Lowe said sensible changes to land tax laws were needed to ensure farmers were not crippled with six-figure bills for small-scale value-adding within their operations.
‘The costs to run a farm are already outstripping inflation, and families cannot realistically afford to pay this huge extra tax on top of this,’ Mr Lowe said.
‘Our government is saying they’re happy for us to grow our own apples, but don’t even think about trying to sell the juice. It makes no sense, and meanwhile, our major supermarkets are making a killing off our produce – and both farmers and families are paying the price.’
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