news, act-politics

Stratospheric rates rises are the exception, not the rule, ACT Treasury says, with new modelling showing thousands of Canberra households even saw a decrease in their bill. Controversial changes to the way rates are calculated for apartments, units, townhouses and dual occupancies have attracted the ire of thousands of owner-occupiers and landlords - including a former territory treasurer - and even prompted an ACT Legislative Assembly inquiry. But new figures from Treasury show while more than 41,000 properties experienced an increase to rates because of the change in methodology, nearly 4300 saw no change or even saw their rates fall. Fifty-seven properties recorded a rates decrease of between 10 and 15 per cent, 1169 saw falls of between 5 and 10 per cent while 3064 had their bill either remain the same, or decrease by up to 5 per cent. The bulk of multi-unit dwellings in the ACT recorded rates rises of between 25 and 30 per cent (7815). Nearly 35,000 properties had their rates bill rise between 0 and 30 per cent. More than 5700 had a rates rise of between 30 and 35 per cent, 813 had an increase of 35 and 40 per cent, while 73 had an increase of between 40 and 45 per cent. Only six properties experienced an increase of between 50 and 55 per cent, while 106 properties recorded rates rises of more than 55 per cent. And while more than 12,000 properties were pushed from the lowest rating bracket to the second lowest rating bracket last year, more than 90 per cent of unit owners still fall into the lowest two rating categories. Just 0.78 per cent of units are now in the highest rating bracket, up from 0.38 per cent the previous year. More have shifted into the second, third and fourth brackets, with 1.87 per cent of units now in the second highest bracket (up from 0.85 per cent), 6.68 per cent in the third highest bracket (up from 2.92 per cent), and 49.05 per cent in the second lowest bracket (up from 24.75 per cent). Before last year's budget, rates were calculated after a property's unimproved value had been divided between the number of apartments of units on site, meaning 70 per cent of apartments fell into the lowest tax bracket. Now the rates are calculated on the entire land value, then divided between the number of units, pushing more units into a higher tier. Even former treasurer Ted Quinlan said the new formula was a "blunt axe" that meant owners within larger complexes were unfairly pushed into the highest rating brackets. Barton apartment owner Jack Evans wrote to the inquiry saying while a freestanding house with an average unimproved value of $150,000 - the base tier for valuation-based charge - would have a charge of $440, this rose to $528.60 for a dual occupancy, $807.89 a unit per unit in a complex of 10 and $897. 25 in a complex of 200. However an ACT government spokesman said this analysis was flawed, as the vast majority of units continued to have far lower assessed unimproved values than freestanding houses and townhouses and thus paid lower rates even after the methodology change. "There are around 40,000 units in the ACT, and only about 300 have average unimproved values of $600,000 or above, which demonstrates that the examples proposed are unrepresentative of the vast majority of units," he said. However the spokesman said the government was carefully monitoring the impact of the change in methodology on low-income households. "The government understands that there are some low-income households in Canberra who do not currently qualify for any concession support, and are feeling pressure in their household budgets because of low wage growth and the rising cost of essentials like electricity brought about by uncertainty in the national market," he said. "We are exploring ways to ensure these Canberrans do not get left behind as our city continues to grow and develop."

https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/545311dc-e8d6-49f8-b8e7-68b259b697bb/r0_35_1000_600_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg