LGNZ's bogus $34 rates cap claim blown apart by new analysis

New Taxpayers’ Union analysis shows the average household could save around $391 a year under the Government’s rates cap, more than eleven times the $34 claimed by Local Government New Zealand.

Taxpayers’ Union Head of Policy James Ross said:

“LGNZ told ratepayers a rates cap would save them just $34 a year. We’ve run the numbers ourselves and, based on average rates increases over the last decade, the saving would be closer to $391 a year.

“Rates have risen by an average 6.5 percent a year over the past decade. If that continued, a four-percent cap would save the average household $2,736 over seven years.

“Even the Government’s much more conservative modelling puts the average saving at $134 a year. However you cut it, LGNZ’s $34 figure is bogus.

“We’ve published our workings for everyone to see. If LGNZ still stands by its $34 claim, it should stop hiding its numbers and show us how it got there.”