VPRS 16233 Rate Books

Every year each local council is required to make and levy rates in respect of all rateable properties within its municipal district. The Municipal Institutions Act 1854 (No.26) empowered local councils to make by-laws for the regulation of their own proceedings including the collection of rates. The amount of rate is therefore determined by the council although a statutory limit applies. Rates are the main source of revenue for the council.The rate record is a record of the levying and payment of rates on rateable properties. Apart from the general rate which is levied equally on all properties, a council may levy an extra rate or a special rate. An extra rate may be levied, over and above the general rate, on a subdivision of a municipality to cover expenses occurred in that subdivision. A special rate may be levied when a council undertakes works for the special benefit of a particular portion of the municipality. Separate rate records are maintained for general, extra and special rates and these are therefore registered as separate series.For each rateable property a record is created which identifies the property and person rated and includes details of the annual value of the property, the amounts due, amounts paid, arrears and when rates were abandoned. A complete rate record may comprise two parts: a Register of Rateable Properties and a Rates Register. The Register of Rateable Properties identifies the properties and persons rated and the Rates Register comprises the accounting details. Where these two parts exist they are registered separately.The format of rate records has changed over the years. Initially the levying and payment of rates were recorded in volumes (known as Rate Books) until the introduction of cards (known as Rate Cards) from the 1930s. In the 1980's and 1990's automated systems have mostly been used. Printouts of the automated system are usually produced as the rate record. Series of rate records in different formats are registered separately.

每年，各地方议会（local council）均须就其市政管辖区内的所有应课税房产（rateable properties）制定并征收差饷（rates）。《1854年市政机构法案（第26号）》（Municipal Institutions Act 1854 (No.26)）授权地方议会制定附例（by-laws），以规范自身议事程序，其中包括差饷征收事宜。尽管存在法定上限（statutory limit），差饷征收额度仍由地方议会确定，而差饷亦是地方议会的主要财政收入来源。差饷记录（rate record）是针对应课税房产的差饷征收与缴纳情况的记录。除对所有房产统一征收的一般差饷外，地方议会还可征收额外差饷（extra rate）或专项差饷（special rate）：额外差饷可在一般差饷之外，针对市政区域的细分片区征收，用于覆盖该片区产生的开支；专项差饷则可在地方议会为市政区域内特定片区的特殊利益开展工程时征收。系统会分别维护一般、额外及专项差饷的差饷记录，因此这些记录会作为独立序列进行登记。针对每一处应课税房产，均会创建一条记录，用于标识该房产及缴税义务人，并包含房产年度估值、应缴金额、已缴金额、欠缴款项以及差饷停征情况等详细信息。完整的差饷记录可分为两部分：应课税房产登记册（Register of Rateable Properties）与差饷登记册（Rates Register），前者用于标识房产及缴税义务人，后者则包含财务核算明细；若存在上述两部分记录，则会分别进行登记。差饷记录的格式多年来历经变革：起初，差饷征收与缴纳情况均记录于簿册（即差饷簿（Rate Books））中，直至20世纪30年代引入卡片式记录（即差饷卡（Rate Cards））；到20世纪80年代及90年代，自动化系统已成为主流记录方式，其打印输出文件通常即作为差饷记录。不同格式的差饷记录序列会分别进行登记。