Mayors support returning GST charged on rates to councils

Mayors like Auckland's Phil Goff and Wellington's Andy Foster support the idea of central government returning GST on rates to councils. (Image: Auckland Council)

Oliver Lewis

Fri, 09 Sep 2022

Councils around New Zealand are struggling to raise the revenue needed to pay for services, maintenance and new infrastructure, leading to calls for new funding tools. Outgoing Queenstown mayor Jim Boult is pessimistic about the sustainability of the sector and hopes the future of local government review, which is set to return draft recommendations after the October elections, will lead to wholesale change. “I just think the whole local authority model needs to be revisited,” he said. “It’s very close to being...

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