We received the following email from a resident in response to our post on council’s desire to raise the rate to 5% for the following financial year. Here’s what was written:

Hello – there is another aspect – being the difference between Local Government Receipts that are not taxed and the community “worker/family” cash on hand to pay rates – which they have to earn and pay for their rates “after tax”.

The increase from 2.75% to 5.0% is an effective 2.25% increase or 81.82%

 increase on the effective rate (as always for any small percentage base) Local Government benefits as they do not pay tax on their receipts. But communities under economic and wage strain – the families the councils say are also vulnerable and others which are under cost of living pressure with high mortgages and families to feed only have after tax dollars to pay those rates


If Glen Eira is saying the average rate is ~$1,600 then a resident has to earn $2,080 to have the $1,600 cash (based on 28% tax +2% Medicare levy). The Council collected $113m in rates yet the before tax impact on residents (with assumptions) would be close to$146,900,000.
If now Glen Eira is saying to increase rates to 5% (2.25% addition to the base 2.75% – an 81% increase) then for the resident to pay the $1,600 X 5% next year = $1,680. But that is not where it stops. For the resident to earn $1,680 in the bank before tax they have to have gross wages of $2,184 – that is a part cause of inflation and the cost of living stress. Over 71,000 (and rising) number of rateable properties x the difference between $2,184 and $2,080 =$104 x 71,000 = $7.38 M – taken from Glen Eira before tax wages.


The potential rate increase is not good local government policy when balanced against the need and strategies to support communities – and their Health and Wellbeing plans, especially when the 2025 budget demonstrated an excess of $5M, which could be/should have been held aside, in trust, to assist with next years cash so called “stress”.


Fluff and bubble really – and blindness to the real world… really. Forensic real costs convert wages paid by employers to before tax – on the basis of statistics and “$1 for $1 equal  basis” with Local Government who do not pay tax.


(We do not have a mortgage and we are fortunate – but the argument above is for the wider good)