Fight Compulsory Advertising Levy

If you want to object to this compulsory advertising levy, you MUST object in writing before the 20th of march.
Council has made it extremely difficult to object, which is highly unfair.
316 business owners and property owners will need to object in writing.
If you don't object, we all pay.

The South Melbourne Business Association only needed to collect a small number of supporters, but objectors are subject to a totally unfair system of rules, deadlines and regulations.

This is the kind of thing that polarises councils and communities.

If there organisations were TRULY interested in helping local business, they would stop treating them with such contempt.

Council and the SMBA have set this up so it is really hard to overturn.
But it is possible.
51% of the businesses must object - that's 316 of us.

Have your say, or we all pay.

Taxing Small Business AGAIN

The new thing in town is the SPECIAL RATE SCHEME - whereby councils can levy ratepayers (and therefore businesses or residents) hefty unexpected fees and charges for just about anything - bike paths, roads, drainage, marketing, district promotion - you name it.
Out of the blue, council can simply levy rate payers, whether the ratepayers directly benefit from or want the works or not.

Firstly, council's works programs should come from rates, we all pay rates and seem to get precious little for them.

Secondly, it is undemocratic to force these fees on ratepayers and small businesses for works they do not want and perceive no benefit from.

Thirdly, if councils have enough of ratepayer's funds to rebuild their own lavish headquarters, how can they possible justify upping our rates by stealth like this?

Finally, these Special Rates Schemes are more and more prevalent. Raising money like this could prove as addicitive as pokies funds for councils. Having experienced TWO such rates schemes levied on us in the past TWO months, we believe they will kill off the businesses they should be serving.

There are ways to fight it, but it is difficult and time consuming.
Learn more here:
http://www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/localgovernment/guide-to-local-government/planning-and-finance/special-rates-and-charges