Monash Council was urging its ratepayers to sign a petition calling on the State Government to reform Victoria’s archaic rating system.
The submissions have closed now.
Council is concerned that long standing older residents of Monash are considering selling up and leaving the area because they cannot afford their escalating rate bills.
Here is a link to media release: Time for government to "fix" unfair Council rates system.
While rates have increased by 2.5% on average this year, this year’s property revaluation means about 16,900 of Monash’s 73,300 ratepayers have experienced rate increases of 10% or more. The impact is being felt heavily in suburbs like Glen Waverley, Mount Waverley and Wheelers Hill where property values have surged and where some rate bills have increased by more than $1,000.
Council wants the State Government to change Victoria’s rating system to give councils the flexibility to:
1. limit the increase in any individual residential ratepayer’s rates from one year to the next based on property valuation changes so that their rates cannot increase by more than double the overall percentage increase in rates for that year (i.e for this year, 5%)
2. cap the rate increase possible for any resident over 60 who has lived at their property for more than 10 years so they will never receive an increase above the overall percentage increase in rates (i.e for this year, 2.5%).
Here is more information:
Background information regarding 2016-17 rate increases(PDF, 220KB)
税率改革 背景信息 (Chinese version)(PDF, 506KB)