Finance and Taxation Committee Chairperson R. Prabhakaran on Thursday presented the AIADMK-led Council’s second budget that has a deficit of Rs. 20.98 crore.

He said that the revenue receipts and capital receipts stood at Rs. 808.12 crore and the revenue expenditure and capital expenditure at Rs. 829.11 crore. Last year’s deficit was Rs. 27.70 crore.

The Corporation would make good the deficit by improving the tax collection and revising rent for its establishments. Mayor S.M. Velusamy later told reporters that the civic body had revised and fixed the market value as rent for shops, the rents of which were due for revision. This had led to an increase in revenue from Rs. 4.50 crore to Rs. 14 crore.

The civic body had a very high percentage of tax collection, which was another reason to not worry about the Rs. 20.98 crore deficit.

Mr. Prabhakaran substantiated this in his budget speech wherein he said that tax collection had increased from Rs. 104.00 crore to Rs. 115 crore during 2011-12. At present, 82 per cent tax assessment job was complete and once the task was completely over, the property tax demand would go up to Rs. 128 crore. To further increase revenue he introduced a new tax – name transfer fee. “Every year the Coimbatore Corporation receives applications for name transfers due to sale of properties, transactions, execution of wills and transfer of properties to legal heirs.”

“After such change of ownership of property, the property tax and vacant land tax assessments undergo name change. For every such name change, the Coimbatore Corporation will collect Rs. 200 or 0.1 per cent of the property value – whichever is higher as name transfer fee.”

On the development front, Mr. Prabhakaran said that the Corporation would have a new record room at Rs. 75 lakh, a new Thiyagi Kumaran Market at Rs. 2.50 crore, build staff quarters for sanitary workers, impart skill training for students, career guidance programme for Class X and Plus Two students and a new e-learning facility for students at Rs. 1 crore. He also spoke of upgrading noon meal centres, providing tablet computers to students of the Corporation’s Special School at R.S. Puram, improving laboratories at Corporation schools, renovating playgrounds and appointment of a sports officer to improve sports in schools.