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30.
Harvey Says
Costello Must Act in GST Export Issue
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11/01/2003 |
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Australia’s
leading businessman Gerry Harvey has called on Federal Treasurer Peter Costello
to immediately address GST legislation that is impacting adversely on
thoroughbred exports.
"It’s disgusting, really disgusting, and it is sad to think we have
politicians and bureaucrats who don’t appreciate how silly they are," he
said.
"It’s crazy -- we are doing everything we can to try and export horses
and the government is trying to stop us," Harvey said.
Current legislation means horses must be exported within 60 days or GST is
payable, and non-resident purchasers must register for GST in Australia to claim
back the payment.
But purchasers in valuable markets such as Hong Kong, where some 2000 Australian
horses were exported in 2001-2000, cannot actually export their yearling until
it is broken in, pre-trained and ready to race, because there are no facilities
for such essential preparation in the former colony.
Aushorse, in submissions on behalf of the industry, has sought a review of the
rule whereby GST automatically becomes payable if yearlings purchased by
international buyers undergo further preparation in Australia.
It also wants the government to scrap the 60-day rule in favor of a 12-month
extension before GST becomes payable.
Harvey said he had discussed the issue recently with Assistant Federal Treasurer
Helen Coonan but she had responded by denying the legislation was affecting
exports.
"My message to her and Costello and anyone else in the government is, if
you don’t fix it, there will be a number of people in the industry who will
get out and we’ll be yelling and screaming about it -- if you don’t get the
message you shouldn’t really be there," said Harvey.
"We need an automatic extension to one year and really, I think it should
be two years," he said.
"They are bureaucrats and politicians, they don’t understand, and they
are not business people, they have not had to go out there and survive, but if
they worked here in the industry for six months they would see the problem and
they would fix it tomorrow."
"We’ve been on about this for two years and they have done nothing. They
have heard all the arguments and dismissed the arguments."
"Helen Coonan wrote me a letter saying it was not a problem, and you have
got to say, well, Helen, what have you been doing all your life?
"How mad are we? The obvious solution is sitting in front of us and we do
nothing about it."
The retailing giant owns the Gold Coast based Magic Millions thoroughbred sale
company with Rob Ferguson and John Singleton.
More than $38 million has changed hands over the past three days at the sale
with 418 horses selling at an average $90,986 and a further session scheduled
Sunday.
Purchasers from Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Korea, France and the United
Kingdom are active at the sale but have complained to Magic Millions they are
not willing to pay GST. Bloodstock agents acting for offshore purchasers in Hong
Kong say their clients are extremely unhappy about the issue.
Aushorse, which represents 55 major thoroughbred consignors, estimates that more
than 30 per cent of $151 million receipts for yearlings sold at the major
auctions in 2002 was generated through international purchasers.
Earlier this week, Hong Kong Jockey Club director of racing, Winfried
Englebrecht-Bresges, said he would consider purchasing all the club’s quota of
40 horses elsewhere because of the GST legislation. So far, HKJC has purchased
eight yearlings at Magic Millions, but many fear it will look to New Zealand in
future to fulfil its quota of southern hemisphere bred horses.
Aushorse Media Release
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