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Taxation


Next target: Rs 1,228 crore property tax arrears

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The Times of India      12.04.2017

Next target: Rs 1,228 crore property tax arrears

HYDERABAD: Despite a windfall in property tax collections in the 2016-17 financial year, over two lakh tax payers have not paid property tax to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation in the year in question.

According to official figures, piled up property tax arrears at the GHMC amount to Rs 1,228 crore including interest on tax arrears. Of this amount, the highest arrears of over Rs150 crore has to come from Khairtabad circle (10B) that covers upmarket areas such as Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills. The other areas from where arrears are due include Secunderabad, Abids and Old City (Charminar) areas.

The GHMC tax wing that gives red notices to the general public and warns people of seizing movable and auctioning immovable properties under the Revenue Recovery Act has not been able to collect tax arrears from about 10,000 top defaulters.

While admitting to the huge arrears, GHMC chief valuation officer Geetha Radhika said the actual arrears could be lesser as properties lying vacant and properties razed during road widening need to be removed from the list of defaulters."Public sector undertakings such as HAL have not been paying the amount due to financial problems," the chief valuation officer said.

During the 2016-17 financial year that ended on March 31, the municipal corporation had collected about Rs1,250 crore from about 12.85 lakh owners (assessments) against total assessments of 14.80 lakh in Greater Hyderabad. Nearly 20,000 tax payers who paid their taxes last year skipped this year due to various reasons such as no waiver of interest on the tax amount.

For instance, in Qutubullapur circle, while about 64,136 people had remitted their property tax during last year 2015-16, this has come down with 60, 159 properties making their payments.Similarly , in Kapra circle, in 2015 56, 786 paid their tax amount and it has come down to 51, 859 in the recently concluded fiscal. In one of the biggest circles, Secunderabad, against 1.10 tax payers in 2015-16, 1.07 lakh paid their taxes this year.

In some circles, the number of tax payers has come down but the revenue collection either remains the same or slightly higher due to new tax assessments. Though officials claim bountiful collections, reasons for good collections include Rs200 crore tax collection during demonetization period as the civic body accepted old currency notes. Nearly 1.8 lakh people paid their tax dues to the corporation with old notes during the demonetization scheme. Interestingly , the number of tax payers crossed 10 lakh since last year after the government announced a nominal Rs 101tax for people who had been paying Rs1,200 as tax every year.

"Property tax dues are more in upmarket areas such as Khairtabad. This is due to the circle having more number of court cases and vacant land taxes dues. Verification of each property has to be done to ascertain the properties and dues. The property tax on the vacant land can be collected while giving building permissions," deputy municipal commissioner K Satyanarayana told TOI.
 

VMC’s move to collect one-time settlement of property tax dues flayed

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The New Indian Express       11.04.2017 

VMC’s move to collect one-time  settlement of property tax dues flayed 

VIJAYAWADA: The Taxpayers Association has strongly opposed the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation’s (VMC) move of circulating pamphlets allegedly threatening residents to pay property tax through one-time settlement for the 2017-18 fiscal.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, association secretary M V Anjaneyulu alleged that soon after the completion of the  fiscal year, the cash-strapped VMC was “over ambitious” to collect the property tax through one-time settlement. 

Tax Payers Association secretary
M V Anjaneyulu during a media
conference in Vijayawada on Monday | Express

The decision will affect the poor and middle class in the city. He pointed that the civic body has been violating the Section 264 of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Act 1955, which clearly states that taxes can be payable by the residents in advance either in half-yearly or in quarterly instalment.

Anjaneyulu also took a dig at the indifferent attitude of the VMC for not initiating action against the ruling TDP leaders whose names are listed as tax defaulters by the civic body officials. Not even a single notice has been served on them. At the same time, the civic body is evolving plans to burden the common people, he added.

“If the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation is really committed to the development of the city, first it should serve notices and initiate action against the ruling party leaders,” he dared.

Last year also, the VMC planned to enforce one-time settlement for collecting property tax from the residents, but failed to do so after facing stiff opposition from the left parties and civic associations. 

Once again, the civic body has come up with the proposal this year as it failed to meet the fixed target, Anjaneyulu said. He added that if the VMC implemented one-time settlement for property tax, definitely it would have its impact on other taxations.
Association president V Sambi Reddy was also present at the news conference.

 

‘Annual property tax collection unlawful’

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The Hindu        11.04.2017  

‘Annual property tax collection unlawful’

Taxpayers say interest on delayed payment is also illegal

The Taxpayers Association on Monday criticised the move of the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) to collect property tax annually terming it an unlawful act.

Speaking to the media persons, association secretary M.V. Anjaneyulu said as per Section 264 of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act 1955, a corporation can collect tax either for three or six months. “Even the council has no right to collect annually and it is surprising that a Commissioner is initiating a move on tax collection for one year which is unlawful.” He said even the 2% interest on delayed payment was not within the ambit of law. The statement that the corporation would stop essential services such as drinking water, drainage and other services was nothing but coercion and harassment.

He said it was sad the corporation was not taking interest in collecting the ever-increasing defaults including by legislators, parliamentarians and other influential persons. “The civic body should use these stringent Sections of the law against defaulters, not against the citizens. Because of the inaction of the officers, the corporation is pushed to financial hardship,” he said. He said even the State and the Central government units such as the Railways, the State Guest House, the Police Department, trusts and several religious institutions were not paying tax regularly and no action was taken against them.

 

Soon, pay property tax in your neighbourhood

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The Times of India                 06.04.2017

Soon, pay property tax in your neighbourhood

BENGALURU: It's time to pay property tax for 2017-18. To make the process hassle-free, the BBMP is making arrangements to collect tax at the offices of BBMP revenue officers (ROs) or assistant revenue officers (AROs).

The BBMP is in talk with banks to deploy officials for tax collection at these offices which are across the city and present at ward level too.

Several tax payers had last year complained about lack of dedicated counters at banks for tax payments and ill-preparedness of the BBMP in this regard.

M K Gunashekar, chairman, standing committee on Taxation and Finance, BBMP, said "Though we have online payment option, many prefer off line mode. Having bank officials, who are equipped with swipe machines and necessary receipts at RO and ARO offices, will help taxpayers complete the process without running around much."

Gunashekar said they have already discussed the matter with bank managements. "They are of the opinion that such a facility can be extended during peak payment season of property tax.

As April and May will be one such season where a lot of people will pay tax to avail rebate, the initiative will soon be implemented. We will soon make a public announcement in this regard," he added.

TIME TO PAY

The financial year for 201718 commenced from April 1 and the property tax can be paid as one full instalment or two instalments. If you are paying in two instalments, the first one will be interest-free if it is within April 30, 2017. The second one will be interest-free if it is paid before November-end.

Pay before month-end, get 5% rebate
 
Latest Comment
 
Online payment is 'the best' option. Paying across the counter in the BBMP offices is a nightmare. The staff at BBMP offices harass the tax paying public too much. If a property owner has any queries, that will not be addressed properly and he will be made to run pillar to pillar. The staff at BBMP offices throughout Bengaluru are so arrogant and will not help the public kindly. Their only intention is to collect the usual bribe, and those who pay bribe will be addressed nicely. The BBMP is offering 5% rebate on property tax for payments made before April 30. The mode of payment can be online, cash, cheque or demand draft.For details, log on to http:bbmp.gov.in or http:bbmptax.karnataka.gov.in formsForms.aspx

DIGITAL NUMBERS FOR HOUSES, ROADS

The BBMP standing committee on taxation and finance has recently cleared the budget proposal on allotting unique digital numbers for houses and roads in the city. "We will float tenders to shortlist agencies for the project. It will also be a smart city initiative. Such an identity, which includes digital coordinates of each property along with PID number and other things, will go a long way in streamlining the property listing in the city. Collection of property tax will also be augmented as more properties will come under the tax bracket," Gunashekar said.
 

GMC tops charts in property tax collections

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The Hindu       05.04.2017 

GMC tops charts in property tax collections

The Guntur Municipal Corporation has topped the charts in the property tax collections in the State.

Municipal Commissioner Nagalakshmi S. said the civic body has topped the property tax collections by achieving 91% per cent of the target. The GMC has netted Rs. 57.86 crore as against the demand of Rs. 65.71 crore, topping the Urban local bodies in the State.

The GMC, which has extended the 5 % rebate in the financial year 2016-17, also saw a spike in tax collections. The GMC has collected Rs. 11.93 crore from the offer of 5 % discount.

Ms. Nagalakshmi said that only by shoring up the tax collections and widening the tax base, development could be possible in the town. The decision to waive interest on tax arrears has boosted the tax collections. The Commissioner felicitated the revenue personnel.

 


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