Wednesday, 17 May 2023 12:45

Ute tax

Written by  Milking It

OPINION: Farmers are rightly fuming over Labour's decision to increase the 'Ute Tax'.

Instead of heaping new costs on to all the productive sectors, shouldn't the Government be focusing on sorting out the state of pothole-riddled rural roads?

Farmers claim this is yet another unwelcome cost imposed on farming, a productive sector already under huge pressure from rapidly increasing input costs and slipping commodity prices.

It really is a kick in the guts to farmers and tradies who rely on utes for their jobs. National says if it wins the election, it will axe the 'Ute Tax' which it says is being used to subsidise wealthy people to buy Teslas.

More like this

It's all about economics

OPINION: According to media reports, the eye-watering price of butter has prompted Finance Minister Nicola Willis to ask for a 'please explain' from her former employer Fonterra.

Red line on dairy

OPINION: As India negotiates to open its borders to more global products, dairy is proving a sticky issue.

Farmland security

OPINION: Paranoia about foreigners is at an all-time high in the US and attention is now turning to foreign-owned farmland.

Editorial: Sensible move

OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.

Featured

Fencing excellence celebrated

The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards, providing the opportunity to honour both rising talent and industry stalwarts.

B+LNZ launches AI assistant for farmers

Beef + Lamb New Zealand has launched an AI-powered digital assistant to help farmers using the B+LNZ Knowledge Hub to create tailored answers and resources for their farming businesses.

National

Machinery & Products

JDLink Boost for NZ farms

Connectivity is widely recognised as one of the biggest challenges facing farmers, but it is now being overcome through the…

New generation Defender HD11

The all-new 2026 Can-Am Defender HD11 looks likely to raise the bar in the highly competitive side-by-side category.

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Buttery prize

OPINION: Westland Milk may have won the contract to supply butter to Costco NZ but Open Country Dairy is having…

Gene Bill rumours

OPINION: The Gene Technology Bill has divided the farming community with strong arguments on both the pros and cons of…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter