Local Government NZ suggests new taxes, central govt support could bridge spending gap

Local Government NZ suggests new taxes, central govt support could bridge spending gap
Feb. 2 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand's 78 local government organisations could close the gap between spending and revenue with new taxes or a share of existing central government levies, according to a discussion paper from their national body. Local government revenue amounted to $9.49 billion in 2013, excluding non-cash income, of which rates made up $4.6 billion, or 49 percent of the total, according to the Local Government Funding Review paper. Councils account for about 10.5 percent of public spending but raise only 8.3 percent of all pu...