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03/09/2012 10:28
Independent Newspapers Online
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http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/ratepayers-r1-9bn-in-red-1.1374538
Ratepayers owe the eThekwini municipality R1.9 billion in unpaide rates as of June 2012. Durban - Hard-pressed ratepayers owe the eThekwini municipality R1.9 billion in unpaid rates as of June 2012. Homeowners and business owners are struggling to cope with increases in rates and the cost of living with businesses owing R417 million or 21 percent of the total outstanding amount. Durban Chamber of Commerce CEO Andrew Layman said the impact of last years July 1 rates increase might have been a factor in businesses defaulting as they budgeted to meet expenses. If the values of their properties were steeply increased, and the rates bill was then unexpectedly
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iol.co.za
Ratepayers R1.9bn in red - KwaZulu-Natal | IOL News
03/09/2012 10:28
R1 329.89 a month and in Joburg residents were paying R1180.48 on average a month. The full basket of goods and services is deemed to be a better comparison than just rates alone, as the costs of the various services across municipalities differs, Du Plessis said. The number of properties differed across municipalities. Joburg had about 950 000 properties, Cape Town had just over 1 million properties and Durban had 509 830 properties. Joburg and Cape Town have more properties on their roll than Durban and their average property value is much higher than that of Durban, he said. Du Plessis also said Durban had the highest unemployment rate compared to the other two metros, so our cross-subsidy level is higher. Lilian Develing, of the Combined Ratepayers Association, questioned how the city had allowed the debt to grow to R1.97bn.
http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/ratepayers-r1-9bn-in-red-1.1374538
A lot of people are being overcharged, so the city really needs to recalculate their figures. But if the amount is accurate, the citys credit control policy should have never allowed that to happen, she said. Wakefields estate agents spokeswoman Lesley van Duffelen said there seemed to be no valid reason why Durbans rate in the rand (R0.00914) should be higher than Cape Towns (R0.005613) or Joburgs (R0.004). Considering that people earn a lot more in Johannesburg and a little more in Cape Town and that the cost of living is not that much higher, it makes the effect of the rand rate in eThekwini harsher, she said. - The Mercury
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