Rates Cap a Taxpayers’ Union fantasy for the redneck wealthy
The Rates Cap has been a Taxpayers’ Union talking point for 2 years because a strangled local democracy process that can’t maintain assets has less chance of fighting development – this is a power grab by the Right!
Implementing a rates cap, will lead to a firesale of local infrastructure Councils can’t afford any longer!
Rather than a rates cap, why not have the Government pay rates on Crown land, rebate GST on rates and construction materials used in a council area, and rebate GST from tourism spending in council areas!
The irony here is that the only reason rates are going up is because of Government pushing costs onto local council!
The Government’s replacement for 3 waters is going to cost $48 billion!
Why aren’t voters angry at the Government for pushing extra rates costs onto their local council rather than blaming their local councils?
Taxpayers’ Union have earned their fees to have manipulated you so utterly. Rates are an issue for people who own multiple properties, it is a Landlords issue masquerading as problem.
Independent Media is more important than ever, especially in the lead up to the Election. TDB is the largest Left Wing Blog in NZ and we have been operating for 13 years. We get zero funding from NZonAir and we don’t have no rich backers. If you can donate please do so here or directly into our account –12-3065-0133561-56
I’d forgotten that the Crown doesn’t pay rates – fixing that distortion and the GST issues would be a major start.
But the other one has to be the corruption at the local government level. Rubbish collection, footpaths and roads, community facilities, 3 waters and consents, all controlled by the local Mafia who are the rich boys in this small town.
When I came here 15 years ago there were a couple of small business looking after the roads and footpaths, now there are several as big as any business in town and busy all the time. Often hitching 1 in every 4 vehicles is road maintenance.
Too simple…Rates have gone up partly due water, but also due to vanity projects
Rates are an issue for the growing number that can’t afford to pay them.
Landlords merely pass that cost on. Making their rates a problem for renters.
I love the way you call out the political right for their bulldust, Bomber. Why are our left wing politicians so afraid to just call it out? Otherwise we just get bogged down arguing on their turf and debating their talking points.
Same on tax as well.
We want to live in a first world country but we don’t want to pay for it!!
The problem with all this is that people are genuinely finding it harder to pay rates so we need to do an end run around the whole argument and point out that it’s just one more symptom of the neoliberal economy – along with people living in cars, the working poor, hospitals in a state of desperation, our young people leaving the country and the whole inequality thing.
No-one wants to pay more rates but who wants public services? Everyone?
Of course they do. Rates will increase, they never decrease or stay the same- that’s illogical. We will have failing potable water, failing sewers, failing roads, failing rubbish removal, lots of things we have come to expect, will fail.
We can already see it in some cases. No-one clears the drains or creeks in a timely fashion. Hence catastrophic flooding in recent years.
A road sweeping truck doesn’t remove all the accumulated rubbish that has already washed down stream into our storm-water systems.
No, we don’t WANT rates to increase but consider the alternative. It’s already happening.
Similarly, we don’t want more taxes either but look at the alternative. No nurses, no hospitals and doctors, no schools or teachers, no public institutions etc. So, it’s ridiculous to yell about taxes and rates and it’s a lie to say they can be capped.
Arguing against a rates cap is difficult because it can always be taken by its proponents to the simple question of “who wants to pay more rates?” which is very difficult to counter.
I blame the government, especially National, for talking up their “water done well” and then walking away leaving councils to figure out how to pay for it all.
Yes, one can see the results of Water Done Well in Wellington via their high bills. Which, by the way, the government isn’t going to cap.
Mayors need to call on government for more funding. Utilizing this election year to make it an issue
You are not wrong but I think you’re blaming the wrong people.
Don’t the local councillors have a lot to answer for years of under-investment?
And also the local political class should have something to say about how the water infrastructure will be paid for?
Standard management practice to sweat the assets just got adopted by the councils as they postponed the standard renewal decisions after being elected by promising low rates and feel good events.