Council faces tax hit

GREATER Dandenong council will seek legal and taxation advice after a ratepayers group revealed the council could owe $300,000 in land tax on two of its major parcels of land.
Dandenong Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association (DRRA) president Alan Hood said it appeared the council had not paid land tax on the Aldi site at Dandenong Market and the Metro Village 3175 residential estate.
Mr Hood said the DRRA feared the council-owned sites would now attract up to an extra $300,000 combined – and that residents could be footing the bill.
“We were concerned that the Aldi deal would attract land tax but the council said this was not the case,” he said, referring to a letter from former CEO Carl Wulff on 12 August last year.
“The State Revenue Office confirmed we were correct and the council then admitted the amount might be around $1000 per year.
“But our calculation is closer to $49,000 per year – something the city could have avoided if the process had been open and transparent.”
Mr Hood said he believed the Metro Village site was also affected by poor land tax calculations.
“The State Revenue Office has confirmed that the same ruling will apply to the Metro 3175 site, where a massive $249,000 per year appears to have been overlooked.
“After being told by the State Revenue Office that the council should have advised them of the changed land usage, we’ve taken action to avoid fines by writing to the Treasurer requesting that he ensure the council meets its obligations,” he said.
“We don’t want to conduct inquisitions,” Mr Hood said, “we would rather be involved in positives but we aren’t going to stand by and see rates rise because democratic processes are being ignored.”
Greater Dandenong CEO John Bennie said the council was now seeking legal and taxation advice on the matter before it could be fully briefed on its obligations.
“Council will always meet its legal, financial and taxation obligations where these are proven,” he said.