Highrise residents front council and demand ‘forensic financial review’ of tax

Mayor Tom Tate is defending the Gold Coast’s so-called View Tax as ‘fair and equitable’ after an Action Group leader confronted him before a big vote on it at City Hall.

Mayor Tom Tate has defended the View Tax as “fair and equitable” after an Action Group leader confronted him before a report into it was debated at the City Hall.

“I’ve looked at the report already, and I have a mindset it’s fair and equitable tax, that the elevated council rates will remain - the data wouldn’t lie,” Mr Tate said.

View Tax Action Group leader David Robinson, waiting in the chamber for the councillor vote on Friday, joined a media conference and gave the Mayor examples of rate hikes, having earlier called it a “filthy tax on older people”.

“They can put it up yearly. It is $7.50 today - it could be $75 a week in the future with this council,” he said.

Mr Robinson told Mr Tate council was making untrue statements.

But Mr Tate told him: “We have a set of rates for the whole of our city. Have you read the report today - no. Because we haven’t dealt with it.”

Officers in a presentation later said the previous system before the so-called ‘View Tax’ was not equitable, and showed data where houses with the same value as a unit had higher rates.

The ‘View Tax’ represented an increase from $3.20 a week for lower level units to $13.40 for those 40 levels and above, they said.

Councillors voted on a recommendation to make no changes to revenue policy, improve communication to ratepayers and review concessions to pensioners during Budget talks.

Officers when questioned by councillors said no increases had occurred in hardship cases.

View Tax Action Group leader David Robinson outside the council chambers before the vote on the View Tax.

Mr Tate told councillors the council had “nailed” the fairness in rates but needed to improve communication. He was supported by Deputy Mayor Donna Gates, City planning chair Mark Hammel and lifestyle committee chair Glenn Tozer

Only Southport’s Brooke Patterson who spoke against the tax voted against.

Strata Community Association general manager Laura Bos earlier called for a review of the policy calling it unfair and a failure to consider “the reality” of high rise living.

“General rates are mostly calculated on land valuations including the value of improvements. Naturally this is reasonably easy to do from house to house but hard to do vertically in apartments,” Ms Bos said.

Bulletin graphic showing rate rises imposed on Gold Coast unit owners in July 2024.

“Perhaps council could examine apportioning rating values on interest entitlements in the Community Management Statement (CMS) of high rise buildings.”

“These are based mostly on floor size and height and this is more closely aligned with the general rating principles council uses.”

“This may be a more equitable middle ground that sees an end to the significant community angst the ‘one size fits all’ methodology of the view tax has caused.”

Mr Robinson, living at Atlantis East, said: “If you take an average council rate of $2400 per year, the amount the council would receive for a combined council rate is over $850,000 for our block of land. How is that equitable considering we get less services?”

Mr Robinson questioned council’s claim penthouses would be worth the same as a house.

“It is untrue in Atlantis East. Our penthouses pay $3681 or $3686 - more than double the $1800 quoted for a typical house,” Mr Robinson said.

Southport apartment owner Chris Ponting called for a “forensic financial analysis”.

“Approximately 12,000 residents or four per cent of the total ratepayers pay increases between 10 and 50 per cent while the remaining 255,000 or 96 per cent of all ratepayers get just a 4.24 per cent increase. How’s this fair?” he said.

The View Tax Action Group with spokesperson Chris Griffith at the front, released a documentary on the much disliked Gold Coast View Tax at a launch of videos in Southport. The group behind the rally. Picture Glenn Hampson.

The new City report said Coast homeowners in the suburbs were paying $400 more in their $1800-plus rate bills than penthouses owners living with a view of Surfers Paradise

The report maintains council is not making any extra revenue from the ‘View Tax’.

Follow @PaulWestonGC 

 

Originally published as Highrise residents front council and demand ‘forensic financial review’ of tax