A week in the Capital's politics
Wellington Civic Centre Nov 2006
This week saw the installing of a new leader of
the National Party and a new line up of the opposition
front bench. John Keys made some timely symbolic
changes to National party policy, not the
least being the recognition of an inconvenient truth
for the purpose of popular consumption. All this simply
mirrors the changes of the U.K. conservative party's
shift to a centre green rhetoric.
In the meantime Wellington City Council took a breath
from Peak oil thinking, with some relief, that a fall in oil
prices allowed the inconvenient truth to drop beneath the
radar. That left Councillors to get on with driving their BMWs ,
Mercedes, Jaguars and 4x4s without any tinges of guilt.
By the week's end oil prices had risen again, leaving our city fathers
and mothers with a sense of deeply shallow unease . Considering
that our elected representatives of popular culture find comfort in
such behaviour, everything was running true to form.
Far from the pressing concerns of popular culture, which is so readily
promoted by the media with its mixed messages of unfettered
consumption and establishment blues, the Residents Coalition held
a series of public meetings for concerned ratepayers to air their greviences.
In Newtown top of the annoyance list was the proposed fish zoo
and cafe pretending to be a Marine Education Centre, but
unceremoniously debunked for what it is, a commercial venture
on our coastal natural heritage.
Last week the issue at the Aro Street Community hall was
the switch of business rates onto the residents rates bill.
Coalition members believe that how we rate our city should be at
the heart of any discussion aimed at achieving a fair and just society.
Newtown , St.Annes Hall
The Resient's Coalition public meeting Nov 30
posted by pepptalk at 5:35 PM
1 Comments:
Citizens have a lot of problems with the Wellington City Council— I want to talk about one—the rates switch from commercial ratepayers onto the rate bills of residents, on to you and me.. Councils under Mayors Wilde, Blumsky and Prendergast have transferred rates to us on the basis that commercial are paying too much . Let’s look at the figures. In 2001 residents paid $26 million , commercial paid $45 million . But that is deceptive .
Residents pay in their after tax income . If you look at the position of companies after tax they actually pay a lot less in rates. They deduct GST payments on rates from their GST bills, they get an exemption for rates from tax as a cost of business – amounting to a third of their rates payment . So if you take these off the amount of rates charged you can see they only paid $27 million in 2001 not $ 45 million .—much the same as the $26 million residents paid.
But on the false argument that commercial pay a lot more the recent councils have switched rates off commercial and on to residents . Council figures and estimates show that in 2010 , residents rates are expected to be $64 million and commercial rates $53 million of which the commercial ratepayers will actually pay out $31.2 million. We’ve been done with a vengeance. We’re paying twice as much as commercial when we were about the same in 2001.
You might ask why commercial were ever asked to pay on a higher rate. The answer , given to me last week by Sir Michael Fowler , former mayor , was because the commercial rates are offset against company tax , and they don’t pay the amount charged but considerably less.
Residents groups have protested against the rates moves for years , with no recognition from the commercial dominated councils. In the 90s the Newtown Residents Association presented an excellent paper to the Council proving in detail what I have already said about a rate switch and the way commercial get out of paying rates by tax deductions.
This year the Residents Coalition presented a 5000 strong petition containing a request that this rate switch be stopped -- ignored by the council as usual and it plans to continue it till at least 2010
So what do we do? The High Court says the way rates are set is a political decision of the Council. Right then , let’s get political .
Let’s make as many as possible of Wellington residents aware of what is being done to them. Let us list this issue among the many concerning Wellington citizens, as a basis for confronting candidates and councilors well before the election next year. Let’s keep it simple – forget about draft annual plans and councilors retreats and submissions. Let’s get people together , agree on what we want , and if we don’t get it , dump those who have imposed these burdens on us.
It’s no use waiting for some new rate system , which may never come. What we have now has to be rolled back – let’s do it.
Jim Delahunty
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