View Tax Action group releases online video depicting fictional council meeting

Mayor Tom Tate has been likened to ‘Napoleon Bonaparte’ and his councillors accused of meeting secretly to create the View Tax in a bizarre new video released by campaigners.

Mayor Tom Tate has been likened to Napoleon Bonaparte and his councillors accused of meeting secretly to create the controversial ‘View Tax’ in a video released by campaigners.

The claims are made in one of two videos to be launched by the View Tax Action Group on Tuesday in the lead-up to a march on February 18 at the first full council meeting at the Evandale chambers.

One video features high rise residents complaining about the financial impact of the new tax, but the other is more controversial because it features a fictional account of councillors at a “secret meeting”.

In the video, an actor portraying a councillor clashes with the mayor, saying: “You think you are Napoleon Bonaparte, the Emperor of the Gold Coast.”

Earlier the Mayor in the fictional video – not Mr Tate – tells councillors: “The council is struggling financially. We need to do something urgently.”

The View Tax Action group on the Gold Coast is releasing online videos as part of their campaign. The videos include dramas where actors play councillors (left) and include graphics featuring Mayor Tom Tate.

In a report in August last year the Bulletin outlined a much different scenario.

Documents showed a host of new rating categories – including building levels – appeared in a resolution passed unanimously by councillors on June 7 after a special budget meeting.

Mayor Tate put up the motion and the seconder was Southport councillor Brooke Patterson, who has since hosted Town Hall meetings to seek community feedback.

Introducing the tax was about “fairness”, councillors argued. They did not voice concerns about the City’s finances.

At the closed doors meeting, councillors were given these options from the administration about a “rate re-categorisation”:

• do nothing and leave the rating system as it is.

• introduce the tax but “staggered” so the increases are eased in across four years.

• deliver the full increase in this year’s budget.

Officers outlined how owners in lower floors had been paying the same rates as those in penthouses – yet those in higher floors had seen their unit values increase much higher.

Sources said the Mayor wanted to deliver rate rises below CPI and was opposed to suburban property owners carrying the burden.

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

Councillors decided it was better to make the decision now than before a future election. But they later agreed the communication to ratepayers – a letter was sent out with bills – was flawed.

In their latest statement the View Tax Action group has called on council to consult with ratepayers and hold public meetings on any option so owners understand the financial implications of proposals.

“Residents – some in their 80s – peak real estate/strata bodies and a former councillor have joined forces to condemn the Gold Coast View Tax in a 12-minute documentary video that will be widely circulated to local residents through social media channels,” the group said.

“The View ‘Penalty’ Tax adds up to 50 per cent to a high-rise apartment owners’ rates bills. The higher the floor of your apartment, the more you pay. Owners on floors 41 and above face paying three years of their current rate amount in two years.

“The long term future of the View Tax is uncertain with the council announcing a major rates review. Those appearing in the video want the View Tax to be axed immediately, saying its credibility as a fair tax is in tatters now.”

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Originally published as View Tax Action group releases online video depicting fictional council meeting