RATEPAYERS can expect to foot a growing $1 million bill if the Northern Midlands Council’s unpaid rates dispute with Launceston Airport is not resolved, mayor David Downie warned.
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The airport has halved the rate it paid three years ago in a loophole over a lease agreement it has with the Commonwealth government.
The council has claimed it is owed $450,000 a year - the rate equivalent under the Commonwealth arrangement - rather than $150,000 a year the airport ‘‘chooses to pay’’.
Cr Downie said the council could no longer absorb the loss and measures could be forced onto ratepayers.
‘‘At the moment, we have been able to handle that, but if it keeps on going we’ll have to cut services or up the rates,’’ he said.
‘‘We have no other choice.’’
Cr Downie claims the Australian Pacific Airports Corporation that owns Launceston Airport turns over more than $700m per year.
The council, in comparison, is home to little more than 12,000 residents.
The council has also ‘‘reached out’’ to the corporation to resolve the issue earlier this month.
‘‘They are very conscious that if they can get away with what they’re doing at Launceston, they could lead to other airports around Australia and some of those airports are very big,’’ Cr Downie said.
Though airports are not liable to pay lease equivalent payments, 18 out of 21 Australian airports also avoid paying land tax payments to state governments, he said.
Cr Downie attended the Australian Mayoral Aviation Council meeting in Hobart on Saturday to discuss a strategy that posed more questions than answers.
It was resolved to pressure governments to force Launceston Airport to pay their ‘‘fair share’’ to the council.
Cr Downie has accused Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss of siding with a ‘‘big business’’ that is owned by some of the biggest fund managers in the country.
‘‘He’s just telling us that we have to negotiate with this airport without any parameters,’’ he said.
AMAC chief executive John Patterson said the peak body has been forced to involve the Commonwealth ombudsman over ‘‘an amount being considered’’ to compensate Northern Midlands Council for its losses.
He said ratepayers should support its council to ensure the airport meets its ‘‘obligations’’.
‘‘If the airport is paying less than what they should pay, if the council is going to generate sufficient income to provide the facilities and services it wants, the rest of the community will have to pick up the shortfall,’’ he said.
