By NIKKI TODD
RESIDENTS of mobile home parks have been given an extra month to respond to a draft ruling by the Australian Taxation Office which could see a 10 per cent hike applied to their rents.
The ATO issued a draft ruling on 30 October proposing to apply the Goods and Services Tax to operators of manufactured home estates (MHEs), who currently choose whether or not to apply the GST to their premises.
If passed, the 10 per cent GST is expected to be added to the rent of park residents, many of whom are elderly pensioners already struggling to keep up with the cost of living.
The Tweed, which with more than 3000 residents boasts one of the highest per capita park resident populations in Australia, is expected to be particularly hard hit by the ruling.
Garry Martin, who heads the Affiliated Residential Park Residents Association (ARPRA), the peak body representing park residents in NSW, said a meeting with the Assistant Tax Commissioner in Sydney last week had proved fruitful.
“We were given a fair hearing at the meeting and they have extended the consultation period right through until 20 December,’’ Mr Martin said.
However, Mr Martin said residents needed to keep up the pressure and lobby hard against the proposal.
“We are asking residents not to panic, but we are just saying we need to make our voices heard,’’ he said.
ARPRA’s Tweed committee vice-president Ken Cummins said there were enormous angst in the community around the issue, with a petition against the proposal attracting strong support.
“We’ve got around 3000 signatures already and more coming in every day from Queensland and the North Coast,’’ Mr Cummins said.
“This is going to affect pensioners and low-income earners something terrible and they tried to sneak it in on us.’’
Pottsville park resident Len Hogg, a member of the Independent Park Residents Action Group, said while the issue was of concern, residents should not panic as the onus was on owners to comply.
He said the ruling, should it be passed, was unlikely to affect many Tweed parks due to their mix of short-term holiday sites and would also be subject to appeal in the tenancy tribunal.
Richmond MP Justine Elliot, whose office has been inundated with calls from concerned park residents, has raised the issue twice in Federal Parliament in the last week, urging the Government not to pass the legislation.
“Should this ruling be enacted, the effect on residents who live in the numerous mobile home parks would be devastating,’’ Ms Elliot said.
“The fact is, they simply cannot afford a 10 per cent increase in their rents.
“Many pensioners and older Australians reside in these mobile home parks on the North Coast of NSW, and this draft ruling is causing massive distress and uncertainty for them.’’
Tweed Councillor Warren Polglase, who manages Noble Lakeside Park at Kingscliff, home to more than 400 residents, said the industry was also vehemently opposed to the ruling.
“There’s no way we want to become a collection agency for the tax department,’’ Cr Polglase said.
“The industry would be totally opposed to it.’’
Cr Polglase, whose park currently does not charge GST to residents, said the administrative burden of imposing and collecting the GST charge would be “horrendous’’.
He estimated the tax would suck more than $2.1 million out of the Tweed economy, based on an average GST bill of $700 per year for the shire’s 3000 park residents.
“That’s got to come directly out of their pension, our people of the Tweed cannot afford it,’’ Cr Polglase said.
“We really need the Federal Government to come out and say this is not going to happen because there are thousands and thousands of people in NSW alone who live in manufactured home parks and caravan parks who need some certainty this won’t happen.’’
To sign the petition, contact Mr Cummins at moo21@live.com.au or phone 07 5524 1994.
