Ratepayers question City's 10.2% rate cut

WHILE the City of Cape Town is touting its proposal to lower the property rates formula by 10.2% following General Valuation 2025 (GV2025), civic groups have raised concerns about being “hoodwinked” by the City, suggesting it is merely “very fancy footwork”.

- THEOLIN TEMBO

The City announced that it will propose a 10.2% lowering of the rate-in-rand for residential properties following the GV2025.

The City's rate-in-rand refers to the formula used to calculate property rates, which it claims is the lowest in South Africa across all rate categories.

The City said this lower rate-in-rand is one of several measures proposed to minimise property rate increases for most homeowners.

"Cape Town's vastly lower rate-in-rand shows that it generally costs less to own a property asset here than it does anywhere else. This asset can also be expected to grow in value over time, increasing the net worth of families and personal wealth of ratepayers across the income and property value spectrum," said Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.