Whangarei business rates up 18% due to poor math

Whangarei business rates up 18% due to poor arithmetic

Businesses in Whangarei will pay a whopping 18 per cent more in rates than they did last year - without receiving any additional benefits, the Employers and Manufacturers Association (Northern) told the Whangarei City Council at its Annual Plan hearing today.

EMA Northern executive officer Peter Atkinson said, “The mistake in the arithmetic came about from the council’s failure to adjust the business differential after it had increased business rates compared to rural and residential ratepayers.

“It’s simple arithmetic and the council needs to correct its mistake in the interests of fairness,” Mr Atkinson said.

“Council’s policy states that it determines the proportion of the rating burden that each sector (rural, residential and business) pays by ‘assessing the benefits provided by the council activity to each of them’ – each sector pays for what it gets.

“However, this year council is proposing to charge the business sector an additional $1.177 million or 18 per cent more than last year without providing any added benefits to these ratepayers, and they’re already paying the business differential (ie, a rate that is five times more than residential ratepayers’).

“Whangarei’s unemployment record is already poor without penalizing business further.”

Mr Atkinson also called for more attention to be given to improving council productivity.

On the positive side, he congratulated the council on a low overall rates increase, once the arithmetic is corrected.

Furthermore, EMA encouraged the council to develop a closer working relationship with other councils in the region, especially Auckland.

Mr Atkinson said, “Joint council approaches to government on improving communications and infrastructure in the region are likely to be more effective than working alone.

“The four lane road project between Auckland and Whangarei needs to be accelerated and a rapid rail link from Whangarei to Auckland should also be built.

“Such links will help create a huge economic engine to drive productivity in the region, for the benefit of Northland and the New Zealand economy as a whole.”

The EMA is submitting its views on the Draft Annual Plans of the cities where its members live including Whangarei, Hamilton, Tauranga and Rotorua.

EMA members in Whangarei total more than 180 local businesses and other employing organizations that represent a combined workforce of more than 6,780 people.

ENDS

© Scoop Media