North Sydney Council, home to seven top private schools including Sydney Church of England Grammar School (Shore) and St Aloysius' College, could raise an additional $1 million in rates each year if the existing rate exemption granted to private schools was repealed.

In the City of Sydney, about 1500 properties are exempt from paying rates. The Opera House is exempt while its parking lot is not.

An unfair burden: Rate exemptions, such as those on private schools, can spell an expensive burden for other rate payers. Credit:Michele Mossop

These are two of NSW's 152 councils that are missing out on millions of dollars in revenue because of exemptions granted to schools and other organisations, such as Taronga Zoo and the Sydney Cricket Ground, under the 94-year-old Local Government Act.