'It doesn't cost the government anything' - Wayne Brown calls for bed tax rethink
Photo:
RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Auckland's mayor Wayne Brown is
renewing his call for a bed levy for the supercity
, as it deals with
some serious economic troubles
.
Its unemployment rate of 6.1 percent is the highest of any region.
National Minister and Auckland-based MP Paul Goldsmith told
Morning Report
on Wednesday there's been a long Covid hangover.
"The economy's flat, everybody's feeling it. Of course there's two speeds, down in the south and in rural New Zealand we're getting some growth and some upbeat economic news from the regions but of course it's a real struggle in Auckland so that's what our real focus is on."
Brown agreed the government would be focused on the city because it was where the election in a year's time would be decided.
He was adamant that what he was advocating for was a bed levy - not a tax - and it wouldn't go to the government.
"They [the government] use the word tax so they can say no more taxes. It's just dumb, it's not a tax any more than it would be a targeted rate. The people who've asked for it are the industry it would be collected from."
He wanted it to be set at 2.5 percent which would raise $27 million which would be enough to attract the likes of a Taylor Swift concert or a State of Origin match.
Cities need around $3 million to $4m to attract concerts by artists such as Taylor Swift, the Auckland mayor says.
Photo:
AFP
Cities needed to pay upfront around $3m-4m to bring in each major event. It would enable Auckland to compete against the likes of Sydney which has a bed night levy, he said.
"It doesn't cost the government anything. ... It doesn't make sense ..."
When Auckland held large events and the hotels filled up, another $100 could be added to the cost of a hotel room "so noone's gonna miss it".
It was also "bollocks" for the government to blame the cost of living crisis, Brown said.
Those most affected couldn't afford $500 Taylor Swift concert tickets or to stay at the top hotels.
He said the government was focused on tourism but had raised the international tourist levy so it was "cheeky" to deny Auckland a bed levy.
Brown believed the government would "cave" on the issue, in part because Auckland was the region that decided the fate of the government at elections.
He had built a good working relationship with some of the ministers, such as Chris Bishop and Shane Reti.
"We have had a number of wins."
He believed it was ACT that was the main handbrake on the government agreeing to the bed levy.
Councillor Kerrin Leoni, who is standing against Brown in the city's upcoming mayoral election, said she also supported a bed tax.
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