Neighbour tax cut off at the fence
A call to slap a tax on residents travelling to other parts of the country for work or play is raising the hackles of provincial leaders.
Hamilton has floated the idea of imposing an amenity levy on its satellite towns as it looks for new ways to fund the city’s upkeep.
But any notion of a border tax being imposed on Aucklanders flooding into Coromandel each summer has been quickly shot down by the peninsula’s mayor who has dismissed the idea as ‘‘bloody cheeky’’.
Hamilton councillor Rob Pascoe suggested the city look at imposing a levy on people entering the city to work after new data showed about 130,000 vehicles cross Hamilton’s boundary daily – with almost half entering the city from the south.
Pascoe, who chairs the city council’s finance committee, said many households were opting to build and live outside Hamilton – because of more affordable land costs – but came into the city each day for work and schooling.
‘‘Isn’t it about time we ask our neighbouring councils to levy some sort of amenity rate on these residents who regard Hamilton as their city, the place where they work, where they play, where they learn?’’ Pascoe asked.
‘‘Either they [neighbouring councils] introduce a levy, or they share some of the higher rates that they collect off their residents, and share that back with us to fund the costs that our current ratepayers are funding.’’
In March, the city council will open up public submissions on its long-term plan, with staff seeking what amounts to a total 8.9 per cent increase on Hamilton residents’ rates bill.
Like many high-growth cities, Hamilton’s debt levels – and rates – have increased as it funds new infrastructure.
Waikato district mayor Allan Sanson said his council ‘‘would not remotely entertain’’ the idea of paying an amenity levy to Hamilton – adding the idea had the potential to backfire on the city.
‘‘I know they are grappling for funds but this is a two-way street and this could blow up in your face.
‘‘I suppose I could flip it over and say there are few people that travel out of Hamilton that don’t go through my district so what about tagging everyone that comes out of Hamilton?
‘‘About 300,000 people a year walk
‘‘This is a two-way street and this could blow up in your face.’’
Allan Sanson Waikato mayor
the Hakarimata track and I guess I could say 200,000 of those [visitors] come out of Hamilton. When you go down that path of taxing nonratepayers, it is a slippery slope down to the bottom,’’ Sanson said.
Waipa¯ mayor Jim Mylchreest said an amenity levy on non-ratepayers visiting a city or district would be difficult to manage and would effectively be ‘‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’’.
Although Waipa¯ did have higher rates than Hamilton, it invested heavily into the district’s amenities, Mylchreest said.
There was an argument to suggest Hamilton should pay Waipa¯ for providing people who came into the city to work and spend money.
‘‘Hamilton City Council over the years has strongly resisted making contributions to any facility outside of its own area,’’ Mylchreest said.
‘‘As a major example, the Avantidrome, where Hamilton would not fund any contribution towards the development of this facility which is a major plus for the whole region. The only money the city ratepayers contributed was through their regional council rates.’’
As part of its long-term plan process, Thames-Coromandel District Council is looking to increase its fees and charges as way of covering costs and funding its operations.
Thames-Coromandel mayor Sandra Goudie said the council’s investment in things such as a pay-and-display car park at Hot Water Beach worked well as it was a heavily used visitor destination.
However, the idea of charging nonratepayers a general levy to use the peninsula’s amenities was ‘‘bloody cheeky’’.
‘‘Many years ago, the council looked at putting a toll on the Kopu Bridge but it worked out that a lot of the cost would fall on ratepayers,’’ she said.
‘‘It is a difficult task isolating out the visitors from your existing ratepayer base. Yes, you want to clip the ticket as much as you can but you don’t want to increase the burden on ratepayers.’’
Goudie said her council would not think of asking Auckland Council to contribute funds towards maintaining the peninsula’s amenities.
‘‘If we did, then I think any council in their right mind would say get lost; it is bloody cheeky,’’ she said.
‘‘Every single council in the country has their own issues. We all use different parts of the country and go into different districts at different times. We go into Auckland City and use their amenities and vice versa.’’