Backpacker tax scares off 90 per cent of Casella job applicants

RIVERINA grape growers expect fruit to wither on vines if the government holds firm on the controversial backpacker tax. Originally slated to begin on July 1, the backpacker tax will ditch the $18,200 tax-free threshold for foreign workers under 30 and instead tax them 32.5¢ from the first dollar they earn in Australia.