Ratepayers’ Increasing Burden

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 227, 22 June 1936, Page 10

Ratepayers’ Increasing Burden

Sir. —In the opinion of some members of the City Council it is extremely unfortunate that the City Corporation should be faced this year with such a huge aggregation of extra expenditure, in view of the appeal which will have to be made next year, if not sooner, for citizens to subscribe to the centenary exhibition project. For some years now, through the action of the late Government— heartily disapproved by the Mayor (Mr. T. C. A. Hislop)—the municipality has been faced with an enormous bill to meet the 25 per cent, exchange liability on its Englishraised loans, a penalty from which almost every municipal body in the Dominion is suffering, and which means a drain on the ratepayer. . This year every body in the Wellington metropolitan area received a rude shock in the heavy additions to the Hospital Board levy, which means another Substantial addition to the rates; and now hard upon these imposts comes new legislation affecting the economy of every local body in New Zealand, wages and hours legislation which, in the case of Wellington city, has been estimated to amount to over £BO,OOO per annum. In the case of the city there is only one means of raising such a large sum —by medium of the rates. While the aggregation of all these Gov-ernment-imposed levies is giving considerable worry to the authorities, that worry must necessarily be passed on to propertyowners within the city of Wellington, jvhich is not consoling, for, on the other hand, the Government has enacted legislation which practically, if not entirely, prohibits property-holders from passing the load on to tenants. It does not take such a long stretch ot memory to recall that the leaders of the present Government promised all sorts of relief to the people of this country during their effort to gain the Treasury Benches, and those promises must have helped considerably to place them where they are. One only need mention the promise that the sales tax was to be remitted almost immediately, while the present Prime Minister certainly stated his intention, if returned to power, to reduce the exchange. During the recent session of Parliament the Prime Minister vouchsafed the not very satisfying information that the rate of exchange was not likely to be increased. Under these circumstances it would seem that property-owners and business people are to be rather ruthlessly exploited, and as this is the class of people to whom the City Council will look for support for the exhibition project, the prospect of raising the money required for that purpose can scarcely be regarded as over-bright.—l am, etc.. THORNDON. Wellington, June 20.