Letters: No easy solution for rates situation

Downsizing will not solve the rates issue, readers say. Photo / File

Re John Douglas (Letters, March 11).

First, capital gains are a paper figure only meaning little to the ratepayer until they sell their property, and, if they buy in the same market gains may well be negated to a large degree by these very same capital gains.

Downsizing can free up some of that gain. However, if you are a pensioner or on a lower income you will need that extra money to maintain a modest or reasonable standard of living.

There's no argument from me that previous councils not wanting change or growth have left us with the infrastructure and financial problems faced now.

Sir Bob Owens had the vision but was voted out.

Decades of poor decisions can not be remedied quickly (17.6 per cent rates rises) without really hurting many people in the community.

We need to go forward together at a pace that has both vision and heart.

We are pensioners who have been ratepayers since moving here in 1979.
(Abridged)

Paul Barnard
Tauranga

Not chasing the dollar

With respect to John Douglas' letter, most of us oldies came to retire in Tauranga because we liked the place.

Most of us are not in the least chasing the dollar and do not want to sell up.

Besides, we would still have to buy another home and the price would still be just as high anyway.

It might be a good idea to see who would like to pay more rates by poll and not have change forced on us like the recent compulsory glass collection system where we should have been given the choice.

If you feel so uptight about not having a museum go ahead and pay the extra yourself.

James Newman
Tauranga