DCC Rates Guest House Out Of Business

The ODT reports that luxury guest house, Norfolk House, has decided to close down rather than pay the the Dunedin City Council's massive rates bill. The Council's decision to change the rating from residential to commercial increased the rates bill from $2900 to $9800. This made the business no longer viable.
We are regularly told by the the Council of the economic benefits from Council activities, but we are never told about the harm that they cause:

• Council spending must be paid for by rates which are a cost on business. Businesses pay a penal rate which is many times that of residential properties. If a business is marginal, then high rates may cause it to close.
• High Council fees for resource consents, and other "services", have a similar effect.
• Excessive rules and regulations prevent, or cause intolerable delays, in potential business activities.

The lesson of economic history is the money is more wisely spent by those who have earned it than by bureaucrats and politicians.