It has come to my notice that the Ararat Rural City Council is launching a petition calling for the abolition of municipal rates.

According to Cr John Cunningham ('Ratepayers urged to sign petition calling for abolition of rates', Ararat Advertiser, 26/7), the present system is 'regressive' because 'the more you improve your property the more you pay'.

The solution is to levy rates on the site value (SV) alone. Then you can improve your property as much as you like without paying more in rates. Ararat can switch to SV rating in its next budget. Admittedly, the Local Government Act gives councils more freedom to set differential rates if they rate on the capital-improved value (CIV).

If Ararat likes that freedom, it should be petitioning the State Government to allow differential rates for SV.

Cr Cunningham wants local government to be funded out of an increase in the GST because 'everyone would be getting the same services for the same cost irrespective of where they live'. Wrong. Council services are services to locations, making those locations more desirable and consequently raising their site values.

Inevitably, some locations have better access to services than others, and their site values are accordingly higher.

Site values are therefore the equitable revenue base according to the 'benefits received' principle. They also reflect capacity to pay, because richer people tend to live in more expensive locations, i.e. locations with higher site values.

If councils are funded out of the GST, the rich will pay less and the poor will pay more than under a system based on property values.

That, no doubt, is what's behind this agenda.

Dr Gavin R Putland

Land Values Research Group

Prosper Australia

Melbourne

Shame, Ararat

Taking eight wheelchair children on a day trip to Green Hill Lake to find great lake, table and chairs, fire places etc but it turned sour when to find the disabled toilet some where down the back waters to the tune of 1.2 kilometres or 1200 metres.

So packed up and went to Wendouree lake for lunch, $250 that Ararat miss out on.

Peter James

Hamilton