AirBnB rates approved as Auckland Council passes 10 year 'green' budget

Thursday, 31 May 2018

Auckland Council debated green initiatives at Auckland Town Hall.

Homes rented out on sites like AirBnB face paying the infamous bed tax.

Auckland Council's Finance committee approved the bulk of its 10 year plan on Thursday afternoon, a budget detailing income and expenditure for the next decade from 2018 to 2028.

Council decided business rates and the Accommodation Provider Targeted Rate (APTR), commonly known as the 'bed tax', should also apply to homes rented out for more than 180 nights a year on websites like AirBnB and Bookabach.

Councillor Daniel Newman voted in favour saying said he opposes the APTR but believed it should apply to properties on AirBnB since hotels and motels were already being charged the APTR and business rates.

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Auckland Council have also approved a slew of targeted 'green budget' rates that will raise $763 million to improve the environment.

A water quality targeted rate of $452m will fund stormwater upgrades and waste water separation in the Western Isthmus along with the rehabilitation of urban and rural streams.

Another natural environment rate will raise $311m over 10 years for pest control at significant ecological sites, fighting Kauri dieback disease and combating marine pests.

Penny Hulse said previous councils had been so focused on the 'big buildings and the planning' they had neglected the need for green initiatives to improve Auckland's environment.

Councillor Christine Fletcher agreed saying the 'green budget' initiatives in the budget were 'long overdue'.

Other elements in the budget included $90m for upgrades to sea walls, wharves and ramps along Auckland's 3200km of coastline to take account of climate change and nearly $55m for CBD upgrades.

Chris Darby said a quarter of the city intersects with the CBD and it paid more than a billion dollars in rates and targeted rates.

'It's the fastest growing part of Auckland, it's the economic anchor of Auckland.'

Josephine Bartley contrasted the $55m allocated to CBD improvements with the $475,000 allocated to the Auckland City Mission.

'You can't have a fancied up Queen Street and have people sleeping on it.'

Chair of the committee, Ross Clow, said he hoped this wouldn't just be a 'downtown budget' but one felt in every local board area in Auckland.

Cathy Casey said the budget 'started out as the Mayor's budget' but was 'now the Auckland Council budget'.

The vote comes the same day Auckland Council voted for a Regional Fuel Tax (RFT) of 11.5 cents per litre with 13 votes in favour and seven against.

When the 10-year budget has been fully approved it will be sent to Auckland Council's governing body for approval.