Holiday home tax appals Nats

National’s Local Government spokesman, Nick Smith, says he is appalled at the Labour Government’s endorsement of councils requiring resource consents for families renting out their holiday homes on a short-term basis.

“A family should not have to get a resource consent to rent out their holiday home. This is just another example of the out-of-control Resource Management Act bureaucracy.”

The Queenstown Lakes District Council plan requires holiday homeowners to get a resource consent before they can rent out their house for less than three months. The cost of a consent ranges from $400 to $1800.

Today in Parliament the Government endorsed the Queenstown Lakes District Council policy during the debate on changes to the Resource Management Act.

“I have no doubt that other councils will now take this opportunity to use holiday homes as a cash-cow,” says Dr Smith.

“There is no environmental justification for councils requiring a resource consent or putting extra charges on a home that is being short-term tenanted. Short-term tenants do not use any more water, do not generate any more sewage or storm water, do not use the footpaths, roads or any other facilities more than long-term tenants.

“The tragedy is that today’s bill reforming the RMA was an opportunity to restrict the power of councils to impose these daft sort of controls but, instead, the Government has endorsed them.”

Dr Smith says National will try to get support for amendments during the select committee stage of the Bill to prohibit such unnecessary controls and costs on homeowners.

“National believes a Kiwis homes are their castles and it is not for busy-body bureaucrats to tell them who they can rent their house to or for how long”.

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