Revisit levies placed on farmers: Temu

ABAU MP Sir Puka Temu has highlighted the need to revisit the unnecessary levies placed on the estimated four million farmers still living on subsistence farming in the country.
Sir Puka made the remarks while debating the Goods and Services Act in Parliament recently.
During his debate on the amendments, he referred to what Agriculture Minister John Simon had said previously, noting the decrease in productivity in the agriculture sector over the years, coupled with what now seemed to him as the Government raising the levies on struggling farmers.
“We really have to get it right, for the hundreds and thousands of farmers in this country because the wage earners are only a limited number of the population,” he said.
“The largest number of those really suffering from these price hikes are our small farmers throughout the country, as there are levies that have been placed on fertilisers and fuel, quarantine inspection fees and container fees.”
Sir Puka said the increased levies were unnecessary and would only make it harder for farmers to earn a decent income and producing vegetables for crops the domestic and international markets. He said the government needed to find a balance in taxing the formal sector and the informal sector in order to ensure both could continue to work.