A Comparison of the Taxation of Livestock Farmers in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States

Many farmers argue that the Australian income taxation system provides an impediment to the operations agricultural sector. It is common for individual components of another tax system to be cited as providing more favorable policy settings. The paper provides an overview of major income tax policies affecting farmers in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. To quantify the effect of the different systems, the income tax system of each country is applied to three case study Australian farms. In conclusion, it is argued that the New Zealand tax system is more neutral and provides less tax deferral than occurs in other countries studied. Income taxes payable vary substantially between and within countries, and no system provides lower tax payments in all case studies.