The Report of the Local Government Rates Inquiry last year “identified affordability problems for rates for some sections of the community which will increase over the next ten years.” In other words councils are pushing up rates so fast that low income households can’t afford to pay and its going to get worse over the next ten years.
Senior citizens and others on fixed incomes face a constant struggle trying to budget in the face of local authorities which seem to have an insatiable appetite for ratepayer dollars.
It is not acceptable for local authorities to demand rates rises above the rate of inflation and population growth. Rates rises should be capped at the inflation rate plus an allowance for population growth. This will inevitably mean that Councils have to prioritise like the rest of us. Pet projects might have to be delayed or scrapped until they can be afforded.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Caritas Justice Leadership Days - an inspiring experience
I've just returned from the 2017 Caritas Justice Leadership Day in Wellington. This year the Wellington JLD was held in Avalon, Lowe...
-
Senator Obama's decision to have Senator Joe Biden as his Vice Presidential running mate will add further gravitas to the Democratic tic...
-
Reserve Bank of New Zealand - Key Graphs - household debt By December 2008 the outstanding total debt of households had increased more than ...
-
Net foreign liabilities - a measure of what New Zealand owes the rest of the world - rose to $150 billion or 71.7% of GDP in the year a...
No comments:
Post a Comment