The Levuka Town Council continues to face major financial challenges, with rate arrears exceeding $240,000 as of October.
Minister for Finance Esrom Immanuel told Parliament this week that of those 152 registered ratepayers, most arrears were owed by businesses largely due to concerns regarding the high-rate structure.
“To strengthen its revenue position, the council is intensifying its arrears recovery efforts, including the re-engagement of legal officers to support enforcement actions and enhance the effectiveness of collections,” Mr Immanuel said.
“The Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government is assisting municipal councils including Levuka to improve systems and financial management.
“The new FMIS has strengthened budget controls, enabled real-time transactions and improved audit trails.”
He said there were tax initiatives or incentives provided to Levuka to stimulate investment.
“Levuka continues to benefit from incentive programs such as Tax-Free Region Incentives, land subdivision incentives, hotel and medical sector incentives, and duty concessions across all sectors.
