ULTIMATELY it will be the ratepayers who lose if the proposed events levy is given the green light, the Tamworth Residents and Ratepayers Association believes.
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Its key issues with the levy are the supervision, the impact on business ratepayers, a lack of direction in events attraction and not enough community consultation.
Tamworth Regional Council has applied to rates umpire the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal for a 6 per cent hike over four years to attract new events to the city.
Business ratepayer Simon Kelleher owns property in the CBD and wants to see the events levy scrapped.
"This is an outrageous application and Tamworth council is stepping right outside its charter to provide and maintain infrastructure," he said.
"It’s another impost on costs at a time when we shouldn’t have it.
"Everyone in the region is desperately trying to keep things on an even keel, we shouldn't have CPI [Consumer Price Index] increases on tenants, with the current drought people are trying desperately to hang on to their valued employees."
Only commercial property owners will be subjected to the rate hike that’s expected to raise the council an extra $400,000 in four years.
The tax will be applied right across the region, so commercial property owners in Barraba, Manilla, and Nundle would pay the levy.
The concern TRRA has is that the levy will start a bidding war for events, with promoters playing council's off each other to pay a higher price.
But, competition is already strong in the market, a council spokeswoman said.
"Having the SRV would enable us to actively participate in attracting new events and increasing economic activity in the region," she said.
"We believe the independent panel will have access to the information required to make sound decisions and avoid a bidding war for events."
The idea is to attract new events to a region that already has facilities that are the envy of other local government areas, the spokeswoman said.
"Through the information provided during the consultation process council believes this additional income would be very effective in driving greater economic activity in the region and this position is supported by economic modelling from economists within the state government," she said.
"We see this locally by analysing the return of the Tamworth Country Music Festival."
If the rate is approved by IPART in mid-May, it will come back to council for a final vote before it's imposed.
The first payment of the events levy would not be until July 2020.