Business leaders have lambasted proposed reforms to funding of emergency services, saying the changes that could result in a jump in costs of thousands of dollars for some Tasmanians were "unconscionable" in a cost of living crisis.
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Property Council of Australia state executive director Rebecca Ellston said the proposed new fire tax was "out of touch, unfair", and would hit rural and regional Tasmania the hardest.
"It is our understanding that home owners across various local government areas will see a 300 per cent increase in their fire levy," she said.
"This is unconscionable in a cost of living crisis."
"The two options in the discussion paper will significantly hurt Tasmanians and is contrary to the original purpose of reform under the Blake review.
"This is not the fair and equitable model of reform the Property Council has been advocating for and not fair on Tasmanians," Ms Ellston said.
Michael Bailey, chief executive officer of the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the proposed reforms to the fire levy would unfairly put the tax burden onto businesses at a time many businesses were concerned about rising costs.
"Let's call it what it is, it's a state government tax that seems to be disproportionately impacting businesses," he said.
"The number one issue businesses are telling us right now they are dealing with is the cost of doing business.
"So any additional charges to many businesses is really unpalatable at this point in time."
He was also critical of what he claimed was a lack of consultation by the government on the proposed changes.
"What never works is when the government embarks on change like this without consultation, and consultation isn't talking to people after the decision has already been made.
"Consultation is talking to the community before decisions are made, to make sure that the impacts of those decision are truly costed.
"The concern from local government would suggest to me that that consultation hasn't taken place, and certainly with business or the TCCI in particular, we're learning about this through the media, which is again not ideal."
Under the present system, fire services are funded by a levy collected by local governments across the state.
Fire and Emergency Services Minister Felix Ellis said the reforms need to happen because residents in some areas pay significantly more than others.
"There are currently more than 29 different rates and multiple levies for households and businesses across Tasmania," he wrote on his social media page.
He gave the example of Burnie, where urban residents pay about 1.3 per cent of assessed annual value (AAV) per year, but residents in nearby Somerset, just over the Cam River, pay 0.36 per cent of AAV.
"Our reforms will change this to better equalise rates across the state to make it fair."
He said the frequency of fires, floods and storms was on the rise, meaning the risks to property and life are increasing.
He said Labor and others were mounting a scare campaign.
He said the reform that would "establish a simple, fair and sustainable funding model to support our emergency services to keep Tasmanians safe.
