Peter Allan Williams: Why are your rates so high?

Stats NZ have laid it out in the clearest and simplest way possible. Payments required by your local authority have pushed annual inflation to its highest level in twelve months.

“The largest upwards contributor to the annual inflation rate was local authority rates and payments, up 12.2 percent. Rates contributed 13 percent of the 2.7 percent annual increase.”

Just why local authorities need to increase their annual income from constituents so much each year remains mysterious.