THE base rate for all properties in Gloucester would rise by more than 50 per cent if a council application to increase rates by 13 per cent over the next three years is approved by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Under the plan, the shire’s existing base rate of $230 would rise to $350, a 52 per cent increase, if a special rate variation was approved.
General manager Danny Green said the rise in the base rate would ease the burden on properties with higher value as well as those who have seen an increase in the value of their land.
It would mean a substantial increase in the number of properties where the base rate would apply.
Nearly half (45 per cent) of all rateable properties in Gloucester and its outlying villages would be eligible to pay the base rate - up from 34 per cent currently - while nearly a quarter of all businesses would receive the same benefit.
Those on farms can expect to pay an average $2843 in year one if the special rate variation is approved, up from the current average of $2250 - a rise of 10 per cent.
Residential homes in Gloucester will see an average jump of $98 on their annual rates bill while those living in outlying villages can expect their bills to jump by an average 15 per cent from the current $650 per annum to a yearly spend of $773.
Businesses will see an average 10 per cent increase in their rates.
Commercial and industrial businesses will increase from the current average of $1329 per annum to $1466 while those remaining businesses can expect their rates to rise from an average $975 to $1086 in 2015-16.
