The Indian Express 14.09.2009

AMC offers upto 100% interest rebate to tax defaulters

Alarmed by the sluggish tax recovery in the first half of the current financial year, the municipal authorities have once again offered interest rebate to tax defaulters who are yet to pay dues under the old formula. Under the pre-2000 old formula, they owe the civic body a hefty Rs 600 crore.

The AMC has come out with interest rebate of 100 per cent on slums and chawls, and 50 per cent from other residential properties.

By way of concession, it has offered to charge penal interest on dues at 8 per cent against the 18 per cent charged on default. The scheme will be in force from September 15 to November 13 to recover dues to the tune of Rs 250 crore, excluding those from closed textile mills.

It is for the first time in its history that the civic body has been compelled to offer interest rebate to defaulters in just six months. The move will enable it to show a respectful collection figure by the end of the third quarter.

The recovery due may be Rs 600 crore under the old formula, but the AMC cannot hope to recover beyond Rs 250 crore because a large chunk is due from closed textile mills, which have entwined with the AMC in legal tangle.

Therefore, they have been excluded from the scheme, say civic officials. Standing committee chairman Asit Vora said there was nothing unusual in offering rebates frequently.

“What to do when people do not pay taxes at all?” he lamented. He said there was nothing wrong in offering interest rebates if the recovery got a boost this way. The standing committee has already passed the proposal in its previous meeting.

The Times of India 14.09.2009

Last-ditch effort by JMC to collect taxes

Akhilesh Sourav Jha, TNN 14 September 2009, 03:45am IST

JAIPUR: After failed to persuade people to pay taxes, the Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) in it's last-ditched effort resorted to mobile tax collection centres at various locations in the city. The second mobile camp will be organised at Ganpati Plaza to give mall owners the last opportunity to pay their dues. The JMC authorities hinted at seizure of bank accounts along with attaching of properties of the tax evaders if they fail to fall in line.

There is an outstanding dues of Rs 20 crore with commercial complex owners in Civil Lines zone. There are seven other zones in the city. Abha Jain, zonal commissioner, Civil Lines, claimed, "In our first camp at Apex Mall, we sat for the whole day but no one turned up. We had served notices to them but they are still waiting for the government to waive tax."

Jain said the JMC has no choice but to come down heavily on tax evaders. "We will wait till Monday camp. Thereafter, we have to propose for attaching their properties and seizing bank accounts. However, final decision will be taken by the house tax committee of the JMC," said Jain.

Official records show that apart from tax dues, crores of rupees will be collected as lease money and revenue on account of advertisements and use of boards and signages. "There is an outstanding due of at least Rs 10 crore in Civil Lines zone. Now, calculate how much money these big commercial mall owners owe to JMC across the city," Jain added.

Civil Lines zone is followed by Moti Dungri and Vidyadhar Nagar zone as the number of evaders are concerned. Official sources have confirmed that as of now over Rs110 crore needs to be collected as house tax and over Rs 50 crore under the new urban tax regime.

"Just to speed up the collection process, the government has announced incentives but it seems that too has not worked," feels a tax assessor with the JMC. He said rumours of all these taxes could be waived completely act as negative propaganda by some politicians.

According to officials the fund-starved local bodies in the state, including the JMC, the state government's decision to abolish the house/property tax by issuing a notification on August 29, 2007 and replacing it with urban development tax (UD) have not done any good to the local bodies. Certain exemptions announced in the new UD tax have been completely misplaced to which number of tax payers have strongly reacted and have filed suit in the court against the new tax regime.