Business owners set to face 16 per cent rate rise under Shire of Harvey budget proposal for 2023/24

Almost 300 businesses in the Harvey Shire will face a massive rates hike following the release of the council’s rates proposal, at a time when many business are struggling with rising costs. Business including those in Australind, Treendale and Harvey will be caught up in a major shift by the Shire to a differential rates model. Industrial or commercial landholders will pay a 16.5 per cent rates adjustment while residential and rural land holders will pay 6 per cent, with the minimum set at $1295. The rates proposal, open for public comment until July 21, will also create a third category for landholders building workforce accommodation with a proposed adjustment of 25 per cent, to which there are currently no landowners, but that could soon change. “We have tried to model things so it is fair and equitable on everyone,” Harvey Shire President Paul Gillett said. In presenting the rates proposal to councillors prior to the meeting, council staff justified the decision by stating commercial landowners can generally apply for a tax deduction for their rates. While there are currently no landowners in the workforce accommodation category, a spokesperson from Albemarle which is likely to be subject to the new category, said the company would be reviewing the proposal. The company, which has a lithium processing operation in Kemerton, is building a $126 million workers accommodation facility in Australind after abandoning initial plans to establish the workers camp in Binningup following local opposition and planning issues. Before the Shire deciding to shift to the differential rates system, it had only had two rate categories — gross rental value rates for properties generally located in residential areas and unimproved value rates for properties in rural areas. Cr Gillett said the council had investigated a variety of different rating models and that the substantial increases in some categories may have been caused by remodelling due to the Shire receiving updated valuations for improved properties the first time since 2019.. “There are a lot of different local governments across the State who use a differential rate model,” he said. “We do get funding through the Federal and State governments, but it is getting harder.” By comparison to the proposed increases for the 2023/24 financial year, last year the rate rise, without the new differential system, was seven per cent, and 3.5 per cent the year before.