Some Policy Issues Regarding the Local Government: Property Rates Bill

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Author: R C D Franzsen
• Pages: 209-223
• Citation: (2000) 12 SA Merc LJ 209
• Date: 03 September 2019
• Published date: 03 September 2019

Some Policy Issues Regarding the Local

Government: Property Rates Bill

RCD FRANZSEN

University of South Africa

WJ McCLUSKEY

University of Ulster

1 Introduction

Government's vision of a future local government dispensation was

clearly mapped out in the

White Paper on Local Government

(1998), read

with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996.

Giving effect to this vision required the passing of a number of new

statutes. During the course of 1998 the first two Acts were signed into

law, namely the Local Government: Municipal Demarcation Act 27 of

1998 (primarily providing for the establishment of the Municipal

Demarcation Board), and the Local Government: Municipal Structures

Act 117 of 1998 (primarily providing, in accordance with the Con-

stitution, for the various categories and types of municipalities).

The Local Government: Municipal Systems Bill, 1999 (published for

comment as GN 1776 of 1999 in

Government Gazette

20357 of 6 August

1999 and establishing an enabling framework for the core processes of

planning, performance management, resource mobilization and organi-

zational change that underpin the notion of developmental local

government) has already been published and will probably be enacted

early in 2000. Two Bills, both dealing primarily with municipal finances,

namely the Local Government: Property Rates Bill (being prepared

by the Department of Provincial and Local Government) and the

Municipal Finance Management Bill (being prepared by the Department

of Finance), are still in the drafting stage and have yet to be approved by

the cabinet and published for comment.

This paper discusses some of the important property-tax policy issues

in the context of the Local Government: Property Rates Bill and the

constitutional environment in which it will be passed into law.

2 The Need for National Framework Legislation Regarding Property

Tax Mates on Property')

Section 229(2)(b) of the Constitution provides that the power of a

municipality to impose rates on property (which implies an original

power to impose property tax) 'may be regulated by national legis-

lation'. The question can be asked: Is there a need for national legislation

regulating municipal property taxation?

209

(2000) 12 SA Merc LJ 209

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