Wellington’s mayor Andrew Little.
Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
Wellington’s mayor is promising to reduce the city’s commercial rates burden, but admits he doesn’t yet have the council’s backing to do so.
Andrew Little told a Wellington Chamber of Commerce breakfast event that the current commercial rates differential meant that businesses paid 3.7-times the residential rate – thought to be one of the highest in the country.
“That starts to make it challenging for developers when they’re developing inner-city land for commercial purposes. So, if we can address that differential and bring the differential down, then we become more competitive in that regard,” he said.
However, even a modest reduction could push residential rates up by around 4 percent.
Little said the first step was getting council spending under control, before shifting the balance.
“I’m confident that if we do the work on financial planning, budgeting, what have you, that in time we can do this.”
The mayor said reducing the commercial rates differential was a personal commitment.
He said there was no formal proposal yet and any change would need negotiation around the council table.
“There’s no collective council commitment to… I don’t know what the split on council would be. There are plenty who are keen to see it. There are some for whom it’s not the top priority, but that’s the nature of council. It would have to be negotiated through.”
Whether to decrease the commercial rates differential from $3.70 to $3.25 has previously stirred heated debate over the pressure on businesses versus residents.
At a 2023 council meeting a proposal to reduce the differential was voted down [ https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/504175/wellington-city-council-votes-in-principle-to-keep-same-rates-for-businesses].
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