The Slow Death of Small Business in Hamilton

I am a small business, pay many fees already to the council, pay my own Grease trap charges with a drain cleaning company, spend a lot to stay verified and food safe under council guidelines, pay new MPI levies, pay for water, pay for my own waste disposal, my car parks are forever being taken by people shopping at the shopping centre next door, I can no longer afford to operate my tiny shop, my rates is now over 8k. I am a seriously hard worker, have already laid off staff, gotten rid of my car, tried to reduce expenses in any way possible and then see the council focus on speed bumps and revitalising garden place. It’s so so shocking and disheartening that they still look to see how they can spend more of our money instead of focusing on form and function. The government in Japan focus on practicality and because of that they save so much money and can keep the cost of entering business very low, supporting thousands of tiny retailers and restaurant owners etc. This way of spending makes it feel like the only way to survive is to be 20 plus employees and very large businesses. It’s just very sad to think i bought a business that profits, now I’m going to have to exit, after various improvements to systems, marketing, staffing etc, reduction of cost and still I am going to fail and have lost my life savings. Not sure what is the next phase for me but it certainly will not be in Hamilton.