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Durban - Durban rate
payers owe the eThekwini municipality R1.9bn in unpaid rates as of June this
year, the Mercury reported on Monday.
Business in the city owed R417m with Durban Chamber of
Commerce CEO Andrew Layman saying last year's July 1 increase might be the
reason businesses were defaulting in their payments.
"If the values of their properties were steeply
increased and the rate bill was then unexpectedly large, in some cases more
than double what they paid before, they may not have the cash to pay,"
Layman was quoted as saying in the Mercury.
Government departments were the biggest debtors, owing the
city R410m.
The Ingonyama Trust which owes 32% of all land in KwaZulu-Natal reportedly owed R285m.
The trust chaired by King Goodwill Zwelithini consists of
traditional land, including the major townships of Umlazi, KwaMashu and Inanda.
The trust was in a legal dispute with the municipality over
whether it was required to pay rates.
Durban reportedly charges the highest rates in the country, more than Johannesburg or Cape Town.
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