Local authorities levy a large number of taxes, licences, fees and charges, some of
which are listed in Table 1. The table lists 10 major categories of taxes; 18 major
categories of licences; 40 groups of charges and fees; and 16 items listed as
‘other’ revenue sources. The distinction between taxes, licences, charges and fees
is, however, often unclear. A number of levies are referred to as charges although
they are in reality taxes, since no service is rendered directly and exclusively to
the payer. In addition, a wide variety of fees for forms and permits exist. The
primary purpose of such permits is regulation, although in many councils they
have become mainly a source of local revenue rather than a control mechanism.
Thus, in this paper the concept ‘tax’ includes taxes, licences, charges and fees,
unless otherwise stated.