The Property Rates Bill is being studied by a legal team from the Estate Agency Affairs Board



The Property Rates Bill, which proposes changes to the way municipal rates are levied, is being studied by a legal team from the Estate Agency Affairs Board and will be contested if they find it to be unfair.The Bill was approved by Cabinet last week.It is now being scrutinised by the board's legal matters task team and once they have reported back to the board a decision will be taken on whether any intervention is required for the benefit of estate agents and the industry,' says board CEO Stanley Moshidi.The final Bill is expected to come before Parliament early next year. Minister of Local Government Sydney Mufamadi has assured property owners that the legislation will not introduce a new tax but will consolidate existing property rating systems.At present there are at least 138 different pieces of legislation governing property taxation - the new legislation, says Mufamadi, will provide a unified national framework.