What the gatekeeper saw

Rate change will worsen rent squeeze 28/3/2007 At present, council rates in NSW are based on the value of land alone. If the rating base is changed to the value of land plus buildings, as suggested by Noel Taylor (ST Letters, 4 Feb 2007), the consequences will include the following: * Land owners who build new accommodation or extend existing accommodation will be penalized with higher rate bills. So there will be less building and extending. The shortage of rental accommodation will worsen, making rents less affordable, and jobs will be lost in the building industry. * Families who modify their homes at great expense for the benefit of disabled members will be hit with higher rate bills. * Valuations of buildings will become critical for tax purposes and will therefore need to be more accurate, hence more intrusive, involving more internal inspections. * Landlords will allow properties to deteriorate because run-down buildings will be taxed less than well-maintained buildings. Land-value rating avoids these problems because the land, unlike any buildings erected on it, is not the product of any human effort that can be deterred by taxation. — Rejected by the Sunday Telegraph (Sydney). Posted by G.R. Putland.