Wattle Range Council looks set to reinstate a yearly levy with the potential to affect dozens of hospitality businesses.
The council decided to suspend annual licence fees in 2020 for those businesses which set up outdoors dining areas for patrons on public footpaths.
This was a response to the impact of the COVID pandemic when trading restrictions applied frequently to the hospitality sector across the nation.
The fee waiver continued in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial years.
Council has just released its draft 2023/24 budget with the outdoor dining fees again included in the list of charges.
There is set to be a minimum annual fee of $80 and a sliding scale of charges depending on the number of chairs and umbrellas.
The annual fee in the draft budget for licensed outdoor dining is $600.
The goods and services tax does not apply to such levies.
