题图来源：RNZ / Dom Thomas

Kiwi homeowners are facing an average rates rise of 15 percent over the coming year – and there is no sign of relief in sight.
【澳纽网编译】新西兰房主在未来一年将面临平均15%的地税上涨，而且没有缓解的迹象。

Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) came to that figure by collating the planned rate rises of 48 of the country’s 78 councils.
新西兰地方政府（LGNZ）通过整理该国78个议会中48个议会的计划地税增加得出了这一数字。

Among those likely to see biggest rates hikes this year are Canterbury residents, who are facing a hefty 24.2 percent average rates rise.
今年可能地税增加幅度最大的是坎特伯雷居民，他们面临着平均24.2%的大幅地税增加。

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Hamiltonians are likely to see a jump of 19.9 percent, while Whangārei is looking at a record hike of 17.2 percent.
汉密尔顿人可能会看到19.9%的涨幅，而旺加雷人则有望创纪录地增长17.2%。

LGNZ commissioned a report from Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen to show why rates were rising so much.
LGNZ委托Infometrics首席经济学家布拉德·奥尔森（Brad Olsen）撰写了一份报告，以说明为什么地税上升如此之快。

It found over the past three years, bridges, sewerage systems, and roads had all become more than 25 percent more expensive to build.
它发现，在过去三年中，桥梁、污水处理系统和道路的建设成本都增加了25%以上。

Bridges, meanwhile, were an eye-watering 38 percent more expensive.
与此同时，桥梁的价格高出令人瞠目结舌的38%。

“Those increases are larger then what headline inflationary gains have been in recent years. With local government they’re not buying usual household items, they’re not buying bananas and similar, they’re buying some of that core critical infrastructure and that has continued to get more expensive,” Olsen said.
“这些涨幅大于近年来的总体通胀涨幅。对于地方政府来说，他们不购买通常的家居用品，他们不购买香蕉和类似的东西，他们正在购买一些核心的关键基础设施，而且这些基础设施继续变得更加昂贵，“奥尔森说。

He said there was a difference of up to 20 percent between what projects were expected to cost when planned and what they actually cost now.
他说，项目在计划时的预期成本与现在的实际成本之间存在高达20%的差异。

“To put that in perspective, if a council had five $20 million projects [in its] last long term plan, they would now have to cut one of those entirely to pay for the cost escalation on the other four.”
“从这个角度来看，如果一个委员会在其上一个长期计划中有五个2000万纽币的项目，他们现在将不得不完全削减其中一个项目，以支付其他四个项目的成本上升。

Local Government New Zealand vice-president and Lower Hutt mayor Campbell Barry said councils were trying to grapple with what projects to prioritise.
新西兰地方政府副主席兼下哈特市长坎贝尔·巴里（Campbell Barry）表示，市议会正试图解决哪些项目需要优先考虑。

“What I would say though, is we already have a $52 billion deficit in infrastructure spending as of right now. So we know the problems may only get worse, and that’s the challenge.”
“不过，我想说的是，截至目前，我们已经有520亿纽币的基础设施支出赤字。所以我们知道问题可能只会变得更糟，这就是挑战。

Hamilton City Council is about to consult the public on its proposed 19.9 percent rise.
汉密尔顿市议会即将就其拟议的19.9%的（地税）涨幅征求公众意见。

Mayor Paula Southgate said there just was not anything left for her to cut.
市长保拉·索斯盖特（Paula Southgate）表示，她没有什么可以削减的了。

“We’ve already been through this budget with a fine tooth comb,” she said.
“我们已经用一把细牙梳完成了这个预算，”她说。

That included cutting staff numbers.
这包括削减员工人数。

“We’ve been through a rightsizing exercise with the council. If we cut more staff, it’s my personal view that we will start to cut services.”
“我们一直在与理事会进行合理调整。如果我们裁员更多，我个人认为我们将开始削减服务。

The council said it cost $5.60 per resident per day to run the city, but that amount was expected to jump in the year ahead to $6.80 for the same services.
该委员会表示，每个居民每天的运营费用为5.60纽币，但预计未来一年相同服务的费用将跃升至6.80纽币。

Whangārei mayor Vince Cocurullo said the proposed 17.2 per cent rates increase would enable the council to maintain what it offered ratepayers, and no more.
旺加雷市长文斯·科库鲁洛（Vince Cocurullo）表示，拟议的17.2%的税率上调将使该委员会能够维持其向纳税人提供的服务，仅此而已。

“This is the cost of running our [essential] infrastructure, it’s not about all the extra bells and whistles,” Cocurullo said.
“这是运行我们（基本）基础设施的成本，而不是所有额外的花里胡哨，”Cocurullo说。

The price of goods and services had risen quickly over the last few years and the council’s income no longer covered everyday costs, he said.
他说，在过去几年中，商品和服务的价格迅速上涨，该委员会的收入不再支付日常开支。

Major increases in construction and insurance costs had contributed to the rise.
建筑和保险费用的大幅增加促成了这一增长。

Barry said it was time to get serious about ways to pay for local infrastructure that did not involve going deeper into ratepayers’ pockets.
巴里说，现在是时候认真对待如何支付当地基础设施的费用了，这些基础设施不涉及要纳税人花费更多钱。

“Congestion charging could be an option for a city council which could help. Accommodation levies for those that experience an influx of visitors would be helpful as well,” he said.
“ 拥堵费可能是市议会的一个选择，这可能会有所帮助。对那些经历过游客涌入的人征收住宿税也会有所帮助，“他说。

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He said a share of GST on housing growth, which had been put forward by the government, would also help – but by itself it was not enough.
他说，政府提出的消费税对住房增长的份额也会有所帮助 – 但仅凭这一点是不够的。

“That simply won’t cut the mustard when it comes to the type of costs we are staring down.”
“当涉及到我们正在盯着的成本类型时，这根本不够。（won’t cut the mustard：someone is unable to succeed or meet expectation）

Amalgamating councils or having a smaller number could help, but that was not the quick fix it might seem, Barry said.
巴里说，合并议会或减少数量可能会有所帮助，但这并不是看起来的快速解决方案。

“It we reorganised or amalgamated councils and we left them with the same levers that they’re current got, we’d simply be moving the deck chairs around the Titanic.”
“如果我们重组或合并了议会，我们给他们留下了与目前相同的杠杆，我们只是在泰坦尼克号周围移动躺椅（无关紧要）。（moving the deck chairs around the Titanic： (idiomatic) To do something pointless or insignificant that will soon be overtaken by events, or that contributes nothing to the solution of a current problem. ）

Barry said the pressure on local councils had reached tipping point, and with an average rate rise of 15 percent, ratepayers were probably feeling that way too.
巴里说，地方议会的压力已经达到了临界点，平均利率上涨了15%，纳税人可能也有这种感觉。

来源：RNZ

分类： 澳纽资讯

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