LIABILITY FOR RATES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 118, 18 April 1934, Page 12

LIABILITY FOR RATES

GOVERNMENT* DEPARTMENTS. THE PROPOSED TEST CASE. The liability of the Government departments to pay rates to ioc?l bodies was the subject of a further discussion at yesterday’s meeting of the Manawatu County Council, when a letter was received from the A\ aitomo County Council stating, in reply to the council's query regarding its intentions in connection with the contesting of the liability of the State Advances Department for the payment of rates, that the proposal was to collect sufficient support to enable the Counties’ Association to make a test case and, failing the support being forthcoming, the AVaitomo Council would make a case of its own and take it to the Appeal Court if necessary. Cr. J. H. Perrett: I understand a test case has already been made of the matter. The county clerk (Mr A. K. Drew): The case made was in regard to the Crown Lands Department. The opinion held by the AVaitomo Council is that the State Advances Department comes under a different heading, the department being regarded as a money-lending concern and therefore liable for rates. Cr. Perrett said that the only thing the AVaitomo Council could hope for was an amendment to the Rating Act. Under the present state of affairs he could not see that the council had anything An hope for in taking the matter to Court. The chairman (Cr. AV. E. Barber) agreed with Cr. Perrett. adding that it would cost the Government a lot of money if it was called upon to pay the rates that could be levied against it. The clerk intimated that the cost to the Government would run into millions, and in his opinion the proposal of the AVaitomo County was hopeless. "I don’t think they have a leg to stand on,”' commented the chairman, “and I cannot see that we can support them.” It was finally resolved to reply to the AA 7 aitomo County setting out the council’s views on the lines of the above discussion.