EYRE COUNTY RATING

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27992, 12 June 1956, Page 14

EYRE COUNTY RATING

RESULT OF POLL CRITICISED

“ INCREASING FARM BURDEN ”

Under rating, Eyre County farmers could look forward to an ever-increasing rate burden shed from industrial and commercial concerns which would be encouraged to set themselves up where little would be required from them m rates, said the chairman of the county coucil (Mr J. E. Horrell) when he commented on the result of the county rating poll to this month’s council meeting.

On May 20. county voters carried a proposal to rate on unimproved value instead of capital value. The margin in favour of the proposal was almost two to one. Sixty-one per cent, of those eligible voted. The system will come into operation on April 1. 1957.

Mr Horrell said that to say he was surprised and disappointed at the result of the poll was too mild. It was astounding that intelligent persons. especially those among the farming community, could fall for a series of arguments of those who supported the change in the rating system. People had been told that under unimproved rating no rates would be paid on their homes, but they were not told that to 'lift the rate off their homes also lifted it off all industrial and commercial premises in the county, he said. It had been said that a large number of farmers in the county were paying a greater portion of their rates on buildings and improvements than on the actual land. That was an inexcusable exaggeration. The number was not large and under new valuations would be ever fewer. In any case, land could not produce rate money until it was improved. “Token Rates”

Again, it had been said that improvements could not be made without an in rates. This could only be true if improvements were limited to a few properties, but on the farms improvement was general and in the long run anv temporary inequality between farms was evened up, Mr Horrell said. No amount of farm improvement could cancel out the growth of commerce and industry which, under unimproved rating, would pay only “token rates.” “On the present rate roll, industrial and commercial properties have a capital value of more than £150.000 and paid last year in general rates about £950,” said Mr Horrell. “The owners of these properties are making good profits and are quite able to pay this rate. However, if last year’s rating had been on unimproved values these properties would havg paid the ridiculously small rate of £45. The other £905 would have been levied on the farming community and with but a few exceptions, every farmer in the county would have been called upon to pay a share of it.

“That is only part of the picture. Since 1952 the value of industrial and commercial properties has increased considerably, probably by £lOO.OOO. This will be included m the 1957 valuation roll, and the additional rate that this increase in value would have paid on capital value rating will now be carried by the farming community. There is neither

equity nor justice in such wealthy concerns escaping their reasonable contribution to the cost of running the county. “It passes my comprehension how the farmers of this county could, in spite of warnings, fail to appreciate the implications of such a change in rating, or be so grossly misled.” said Mr Horrell.