The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) and National Seniors Australia (NSA) have proposed reducing the income tax rate on pensioners’ earnings in order to address labour shortages.
At present a single person can earn up to $480 per fortnight without affecting their pension entitlement, but they incur an effective marginal tax rate of 50% if their income exceeds this.
NFF president Fiona Simson contends that relaxing this rule would encourage more pensioners to enter the workforce, including travelling to regional areas to harvest fruit crops.
