Cape Town ratepayers fume over City’s fixed levies on top of their usual bills

[Currantly]

[...]except if you'd prefer a levy for road usage levy say in return for reduced property taxes?

We already pay multiple levies on fuel for 'road usage' amongst other things.

 

[supersunbird]

We already pay multiple levies on fuel for 'road usage' amongst other things.

Yes, but that goes to national government into the general tax pool and I bet they do not divide it up precisely by province and municipality in regard to the road networks they are responsible for,

 

[DeSLAM]

I'm pretty sure he also doesn't want want to pay data bundles prices from 2010 . Things change.

CoCT debt ballooned to R9.3 billion in August, yes of course things change...DWS doesn't pay a cent for rain water.

You're still being screwed over.

 

[SeRpEnT]

How about a levy where everyone pays the same? Why must my property taxes be considerably more than a neighbour because I look after my property? We use the same services, and drive the same roads.

Invest in your property and built an extra garage? Value goes up and COCT just charges you more. Zero incentive to invest or elevate oneself above a shack dwelling.

 

[DeSLAM]

That pays for your local roads (they don't get all funds required from National for that) and other things, except if you'd prefer a levy for road usage levy say in return for reduced property taxes?

And like it doesn't pay for the upkeep of water infrastructure in the CoCT metro....right? But its exactly what paid for its upkeep - before a levy was introduced during the drought.

 

[DeSLAM]

Invest in your property and built an extra garage? Value goes up and COCT just charges you more. Zero incentive to invest or elevate oneself above a shack dwelling.

If anyone in your street upgrades their property, or sells it for a fortune - your property rates will go up accordingly. As they use the street average property price tag, unless you oppose your property rate individually.

Magically though - if your garden got killed by the drought - your property rate never came down during that time - despite the retail value of said property having dropped with around 30% , compared to when it had a lush garden.

You were taxed full rate throughout the drought. As if the value never dropped. Notice a trend?

 

[xrapidx]

Invest in your property and built an extra garage? Value goes up and COCT just charges you more. Zero incentive to invest or elevate oneself above a shack dwelling.

You don't even have to invest - just make sure it looks maintained. A house of exactly the same proportions as mine - just un-kept - is valued at 66% of my value, and its two houses down from me.

His rates: R 9 751,30
My rates: R 15 290,50

 

[Corelli]

They are trying to implement a levy on alcohol. And desperately in doing so.

Basically they want to charge their own tax for alcohol sold in South Africa.

Personally I think all these levies should be dropped. Including the Fuel levy

 

[YM_80]

Magically though - if your garden got killed by the drought - your property rate never came down during that time - despite the retail value of said property having dropped with around 30% , compared to when it had a lush garden.

You were taxed full rate throughout the drought. As if the value never dropped. Notice a trend?

Similar, I think, to when food and other prices go up due to petrol prices rising, but when petrol prices drop again....

 

[zolly]

Will you be saying the same thing about in the 2030s wrt to billing in the 2020s? That's where we're heading, right?

If rainfall patterns, water consumption, and technology changes, then yes.

 

[grok]

Was in Cape Town last week for business.... was very impressed at how well run, clean and organised the city was. No sign of any trash, roads are painted and well maintained. Visible policing in many places, shopping and tourism was booming. In comparison Durban and Joburg are dirty $h!tholes. So my advice to Capetonians is... enjoy it.

That's just because the rest of the country has become so unbearably k@k in comparison.
Yeah that shithole Trump was referring to, you're living in it..

 

[zolly]

The drought is over - the dams cant get fuller than they are.

If the present storage capacity of the Cape Town River System dams cannot see Cape Town through at pre drought tariffs, without fixed levies; and without water restrictions this summer - let me put it to you in simple language.

The problem lies elsewhere. If the maximum supply capacity of CTRS is inadequate - the REAL problem was man made by the municipality themselves. And now water is being used coercively to fill the piggy bank to fund off budget projects, and what they feel they should get paid now. At any cost to the paying consumer.

Fresh water does not belong to the state - read the Water Act. It is merely entrusted to the state to manage in distribution and supply infrastructure we paid for long ago. And the maintenance we paid for was included in the water price BEFORE they started implementing a "supply levy" (call it by whatever name you want to - its a new tax on water). And the 2014 tariff was adequate to maintain water infrastructure very well...without the new levy.

New supply and distribution infrastructure in new suburbs are paid for by the new rate payers that move in there.

1) Regarding inability to increase supply - Building new dams is not cheap or simple. Neither is other methods such as desalination as we all know. They are busy upgrading water treatment plants as we speak. Unless you have other ideas regarding increases to capacity, in which case you should probably forward them on to the relevant departments.

2) Water tax - If I have to pay a small tax to ensure water infrastructure is better than the rest of the country, so be it. I'm happy to pay extra if it means that our problems get issued quickly and remain resolved for longer periods. My parents had to wait days in KZN to get their water back on the last time they had an issue, where the last time we had an issue it was sorted out within a few hours.

3) New supply and distribution infrastructure - I'm assuming you include maintenance in this? But what happens when people change their water consumption habits and it's no longer enough to cover the cost of it? We capture all our grey water and use a fraction of what we used to since we are no longer flushing drinking water. Prior to this COCT probably made enough to cover their costs off us, but it's likely that they don't any more, which is why I understand the changes to the costs.

 

[Paul_S]

You may have not heard of this drought we had for 4 years. Or the simple reality that we get less water than we used to and this has increasingly been the case since the 90s (according to a friend of mine who farms out in Caledon). Or the fact that most people have changed their water consumption habits because of the drought and continue to maintain their good habits for the most part.

Thinking that our water supply systems should operate and be billed the way they did back in the 2010s is a bit backward.

Back in the 90s the infrastructure the apartheid government built and maintained wasn't leaking and wasting water everywhere. We now have municipalities where over 60% of the treated water never even reaches the consumer!
What we have is a massive water mismanagement problem more than a water shortage problem.

Yes, we may have had drought conditions but if we're throwing more than 50% of water away maybe we need to focus attention on who's running the show instead of screwing consumers over to cover their mismanagement?!

Raw sewage into rivers, leaking/burst pipes, broken water treatment infrastructure, etc.

 

[D tj]

The DA who claim to be for the people, are financially "raping" the Capetonians whilst giving themselves exorbitant salaries.
While everyone has to trim their budgets, they award themselves increases and have the cheek to rape by adding more and more petty taxes.
They ought to be striving to be more efficient year on year, not more greedy and wasteful.

 

[Paul_S]

The DA who claim to be for the people, are financially "raping" the Capetonians whilst giving themselves exorbitant salaries.
While everyone has to trim their budgets, they award themselves increases and have the cheek to rape by adding more and more petty taxes.
They ought to be striving to be more efficient year on year, not more greedy and wasteful.

All they need is a rate payer revolt once people can self provision their own water and electricity. What would they do if one million residents refused to pay and they had no leverage such as cutting off water and electricity?

 

[ToxicBunny]

All they need is a rate payer revolt once people can self provision their own water and electricity. What would they do if one million residents refused to pay and they had no leverage such as cutting off water and electricity?

Court, and attachment of assets for defaulting on monies owed.

The city won't hesitate to try take your house away from you if they can...

 

[Paul_S]

Court, and attachment of assets for defaulting on monies owed.

The city won't hesitate to try take your house away from you if they can...

What would the city do with 1 million houses and most of their income gone? Houses filled with squatters won't pay salaries.
They wouldn't stand a chance against a mass revolt. Look at what happened with etolls. Lots of threats about court actions, fines, seizure of assets, etc. but when faced with rebellion on a grand scale they don't stand a chance. Prosecuting one million people, one person at a time is not feasible especially if those people also fight back in court.

 

[maumau]

It's actually deteriorated over the last few years. Places aren't as clean as they used to be. If this is what impresses you and it's currently not that impressive, then Durban and Joburg must be horrible.

Can't speak for Durban but Joburg is

Family spent a few days in CT 2 months ago and didn't stop raving about it.

 

[ToxicBunny]

What would the city do with 1 million houses and most of their income gone? Houses filled with squatters won't pay salaries.
They wouldn't stand a chance against a mass revolt. Look at what happened with etolls. Lots of threats about court actions, fines, seizure of assets, etc. but when faced with rebellion on a grand scale they don't stand a chance. Prosecuting one million people, one person at a time is not feasible especially if those people also fight back in court.

It will never get to that level...

A few hundred people will try it, the court cases will be initiated and the attempt will be beaten down and the rest of the population will cower in fear and pay up.

etolls threats of court action were empty because they had no basis in law, the city going after delinquent non payers has every basis in law and they WILL use it and use it quickly if they notice a trend.

 

[ToxicBunny]

Can't speak for Durban but Joburg is

Family spent a few days in CT 2 months ago and didn't stop raving about it.

Durban CBD is a cesspit....

The area along the beachfront is kind of OK but the rest is a no-go zone pretty much.