PENALTY ON RATES.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 373, 15 March 1932, Page 12

PENALTY ON RATES.

Remission Proposed by City Council. CASES OF HARDSHIP. At a special meeting of the Finance Committee of the Christchurch City Council last evening the Mayor (Mr D. G. Sullivan, M.P.) was authorised to approach the Prime Minister regarding a proposal that the 10 per cent penalty on overdue rates should be remitted in cases of hardship The decision of the Finance Committee was made after the matter had been considered by the full council.

The proposal was brought forward by Councillor A. A. M’Lachlan. He said that he felt sure that all the members of the council would be sympathetic to the proposal for the remission of the 10 per cent penalty on the rates due this year. Fie understood that there were complications in regard to the finances of the council, and he wished to ask leave to amend his motion in the direction of calling on the Finance Committee to deal with the matter urgently with a view to a thorough investigation of the possibilities of some relief being granted against the penalty that would be imposed on unpaid rates after March 22. Councillor Elizabeth R. M’Combs seconded the motion. Councillor E. H. Andrews said he would like to see something done along the lines proposed, but the difficulty was that Councillor M’Lachlan had left the matter so late. Even if it were possible to get legislation passed, he questioned whether it could be effective this year. While he was entirely sj'mpathetic towards the proposal, there were obvious dangers in it so far as the council was concerned. The ratepayers had practically a year in which to pay their rates, and without some penalty being imposed it would be very difficult to collect them. In his opinion it would be better to give a rebate for prompt payment rather than to impose a penalty for late payment. Referring the matter to the Finance Committee at this late stage was not going to give any relief this year. The Mayor said that the Prime Minister had stated in the House last week that he was considering the question of granting local bodies discretion in the matter of imposing the 10 per cent penalty in cases of hardship. He agreed with Councillor Andrews that it would be very difficult for the council to grant any relief this year. Local bodies to a very large extent were in a straitjacket; they could only do the things which various Acts said they could do. He suggested that a special meeting of the Finance Committee be held to consider the matter. Councillor A. E. Armstrong urged that every effort be made to give some relief to the ratepayers who were unable to make pannents before March 22. Councillor F. T. Evans agreed with the suggestion made by Councillor Andrews that a rebate be given to citizens who paid their rates promptly. The most serious aspect of the question, said Councillor M. E. Lyons, was that of financing the council’s activities in the event of the proposal being adopted. The Mayor remarked that the council’s debit at the bank was now £170,000.