VPRS 3724 Counter 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.

各地方议会每年均须就其市政辖区内的所有应课差饷物业（rateable properties），厘定并征收差饷（rates）。《1854年市政机构法》（Municipal Institutions Act 1854）（第26号）授权地方议会制定附例（by-laws），规范自身运作流程，其中涵盖差饷征收相关事宜。尽管存在法定上限，差饷征收额度仍由地方议会自行厘定，且差饷亦是地方议会的核心收入来源。差饷记录是记载应课差饷物业的差饷征收与缴纳情况的档案。除面向所有物业统一计征的一般差饷外，地方议会还可征收附加差饷或专项差饷：附加差饷可在一般差饷之外，针对市政辖区的某一分区征收，用于覆盖该分区产生的相关开支；专项差饷则可在地方议会为市政辖区内特定区域的专属利益开展工程时征收。差饷记录按一般差饷、附加差饷及专项差饷分别建档，因此以独立序列进行登记。针对每一处应课差饷物业，均会建立专属档案，用于标识该物业及应课差饷纳税人，并包含物业年值（annual value）、应缴金额、已缴金额、拖欠款项以及差饷停征时间等详细信息。完整的差饷记录可分为两部分：应课差饷物业登记册（Register of Rateable Properties）与差饷登记册（Rates Register），前者用于标识应课差饷物业及纳税人，后者则包含财务核算相关的详细细节。若同时存在这两部分档案，则需分别予以登记。差饷记录的格式历经多年演变：早期，差饷的征收与缴纳情况均记录于册籍（时称“差饷册（Rate Books）”），直至20世纪30年代引入卡片式档案（时称“差饷卡（Rate Cards）”）；至20世纪80、90年代，自动化系统已得到广泛应用，自动化系统生成的打印输出件通常即作为差饷记录。不同格式的差饷记录序列将分别予以登记。