The operators of holiday-let houses and the tourists that visit them should be the ones helping to pay for local infrastructure not local residents, according to a petition being circulated by Byron Labor.
The political group is accusing the Greens Party of pushing for a 60 per cent rate rise instead of looking at other options.
Byron Labor acting secretary Asren Pugh said the proposed rate rise was a lazy and unimaginative response from council leadership ‘and it’s just not good enough’.
‘We have had over 12 years of a Greens Party-led council and our local infrastructure is crumbling, our roads are a mess and the only solution that our Mayor can come up with is a 60 per cent rate rise for local residents” Mr Pugh said.
‘Nearly 30 per cent of council expenditure is spent on looking after tourists. It’s time to make them pay, not slug residents with a massive new bill.
‘The council should be looking at all other options before raising residential rates. Byron Labor has called for the businesses that benefit from tourists to bear the burden of any increased rate rise.
‘We already have the lowest business rates in the region with businesses in places like the Lismore CBD paying double Byrons business rate. The millionaire commercial landlords of Byron Bay can afford to contribute a little more.
‘We also have up to an estimated 1000 holiday let houses across the shire that are taking housing from local people and profiting from tourists.
‘These properties should be helping fund our local infrastructure and they should pay the increased business rates. If a property is holiday let and AirBnb for over 3 months of the year, it is a business, not residential.
‘This would act as a defacto bed tax and mean local accommodation providers are paying something to support the tourists they profit from.
There are other opportunities that should be looked at by council, such as increasing parking fees, particularly at popular tourist hotspots like Main Beach and Wategoes, that would take the pressure off local residents.
Residents can go to www.bit.ly/StopTheRateRise to sign the petition. It will delivered before the next council meeting on February the 2nd 2017.
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