what is wrong with a local government rating based on a proxy for water
outflow (e.g. area) to cover the costs of, for argument's sake, a scheme to
drain land, including your own? Ideally taxes should be proximate to the
benefits derived from the services provided, and under New Zealand law
(don't know about Australian states) the Rating Powers Act 1988, enables
local government an array of bases for charging, and under the Local
Government Amendment Act 1996 (number 3), local government is obligated to
recover the costs of its services in a way proximate to the distribution of
the benefits:
122F. Principles relating to funding of expenditure needs---The
principles referred to in section 122E (1) (a) of this Act (which
principles are not ranked in order of priority) are---
``(a) The principle that the costs of any expenditure should be
recovered at the time that the benefits of that expenditure
accrue:
``(b) The principle that, to the extent that any expenditure---
``(i) Is independent of the number of persons who benefit; or
``(ii) Generates benefits that do not accrue to identifiable
persons or groups of persons; or
``(iii) Generates benefits to the community generally,---
the costs of that expenditure should be allocated in a manner
consistent with economic efficiency and appropriate to the
nature and distribution of the benefits generated, which manner
may require the use of rating mechanisms under the Rating
Powers Act 1988:
``(c) The principle that the costs of any expenditure should be
recovered from persons or categories of persons in a manner
that matches the extent to which the direct benefits of that
expenditure accrue to those persons or categories of persons:
``(d) The principle that the costs of any expenditure to control
negative effects that are contributed to by the actions or
inaction of any persons or categories of persons should be
allocated to those persons or categories of persons in a way
that matches the extent to which they contribute to the need
for that expenditure.
David Hillary
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