Ratepayers begin paying Rugby World Cup levy

File photo / Sarah Ivey

Some Auckland ratepayers have begun paying for the 2011 Rugby World Cup but a ratepayers group says the tourism and hospitality industry should be picking up the tab.

Waitakere residents are being billed $4.50, Auckland City residents are set to pay $23 and North Shore City residents will contribute $1m over three years.

NoMoreRates founder David Thornton said it was unfair that ratepayers will be paying for an event that organisers say will generate a $40 million loss.

"There's all this talk about economic benefit that trickles down through society , they do to some extent but when it comes to the bottom line about who pays, it is the ratepayer and it is the ratepayer who shouldn't pay," Mr Thornton said.

He said retired people and those on fixed incomes would not benefit from hosting the Rugby World Cup but if they owned their own home, would be paying for it.

Waitakere residents may have noticed a new column on their bill dedicated to hosting the cup.

In the latest rates bill sent out at the beginning of this month, Waitakere residents have been billed an extra $4.50 as part of a "Rugby World Cup levy".

Council spokesman Glyn Walters said Waitakere had chosen to show the levy "in the interests of transparency".

He said the council would be contributing $2.84m over the next three years.

Mr Walters also said the levy could be increased but by how much is not known.

"We don't know by how much. It depends on the annual plan but we're looking to put it up a bit higher," Mr Walters said.

He later clarified that any increase would be dependent on the council's annual plan deliberations next year.

Asked if rate payers had queried the extra charge, Mr Walters said they had.

Like Waitakere, Auckland City will also introduce a Rugby World Cup levy.

A representative of the council, who said she could not be named, told nzherald.co.nz that two targeted rates will be introduced from July 2011.

Each residential property will be paying $23. A separate targeted rate on businesses of - 1.35 per cent increase in rates - has also been introduced but she did not say how much that will cost businesses.

She said the council plans to invest $60m in Rugby World Cup related projects, including transport and venue upgrades.

"RWC 2011 is expected to generate up to $267million of direct economic benefits for Auckland," she said.

Across the Waitemata, North Shore City residents will contribute $1m over three years to World Cup costs.

North Shore City Council's financial services manager John McLaren said there will be further costs, including $600,000 for temporary seating at North Harbour Stadium and $300,000 for traffic management but that will come out of existing budgets.

According to the council's City Plan, a further $1.2m will be spent over three years on "fan zones, tourism hubs, grass roots sport and cultural development programmes, volunteers, etc".

"If they get involved in any particular promotions in North Shore City, that would be additional," Mr McLaren said.