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Taxation


Vijayapura corpn. gets software to augment property tax collection

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The Hindu        01.03.2017  

Vijayapura corpn. gets software to augment property tax collection

The Vijayapura City Corporation will now provide unique property numbers to increasing tax collection.rajendra singh hajeri  

It will allot unique identity number for property

With the objective of increasing property tax collection, which has failed to reach the desired target owing to tax evasion, the Vijayapura City Corporation has decided to adopt a modern method to augment tax collection.

The corporation has obtained a special software which will allot unique identity number to property and help in automatically assessing tax paid to the corporation by property owners.

Corporation commissioner Harsha Shetty, who has got the software developed, said that while the actual collection of property tax should be at least Rs. 20 crore annually, owing to various lacuna, it was only Rs. 9 crore.

He said that according to a survey conducted in 2006, the city had 96,000 registered property with 68,000 of having individual water tap connection.

“Interestingly, Hubballi Electricity Supply Company says that it has provided electricity connection to 1.6 lakh property. It means that there is disparity in the number of property. We have now decided to give unique number to each property, both authorised and unauthorised (not constructed as per norms),” he said.

He said that tax is being collected only from 65 % of the total property, while the rest of them have not been paying tax for years.

About the software, Mr. Shetty said that once data of all property is uploaded, it would be easy to get details of specific property based on the unique property number.

“Based on that, it would be easy to calculate tax paid or tax yet to be paid. We can ask property owners to pay tax if they have not paid it. In case owners continue to evade tax, then water supply could be disconnected,” he said.

Stating that the process is still under way, he hoped that the corporation would augment property tax collection with the new initiative.

 

e-payment facility for property tax

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The Hindu      24.02.2017

e-payment facility for property tax

The government will introduce e-payment facility in all panchayats for remitting property tax.

Governor P. Sathasivam, in his address to the Assembly on Thursday, said the facility had already been introduced in panchayats in Malappuram district and would be extended to all over the State.

In order to streamline and simplify the issuance of building permits, from Corporations and major towns, the government intended to use the software.

The Kozhikode Corporation had already introduced a web-based platform, `For the People,’ to combat corruption at all levels in local bodies. This would be emulated in other local bodies too. The government proposed to generate 1,000 mandays of employment under the MGNREGS. A new PPP model experimented for waste management by the Sultan Bathery municipality, if found suitable, may be extended to other local bodies.

 

Rs.30 crore in property tax collected in just 10 days

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The Hindu       22.11.2016  

Rs.30 crore in property tax collected in just 10 days

Property tax collection by the three municipal corporations has increased by up to five times in the past 10 days compared to the same period last year, thanks to the withdrawn Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes being accepted for payment.

After the high-denomination notes were scrapped, the municipal corporations announced that they would accept the old notes for payment of all taxes and charges, as per the Centre’s exemption policy till November 24.

From November 11 till now, a total of Rs. 29.47 crore in property tax has been collected by the corporations.

For the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which has collected Rs.14.5 crore in property tax and Rs.3 crore in conversion charges from November 11 till Monday, the collections have gone up five fold.

Last year, from November 8 to 21, the SDMC had collected Rs.2.4 crore. On Monday alone, the SDMC collected about Rs.2 crore.

“In fact, we have added 5,300 new taxpayers to our base in these 10 days,” said an SDMC spokesperson.

The cash-strapped North and East Delhi civic bodies have also seen an increase in their collection.

Best months

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation, which collected Rs.2 crore from November 8 to 18 last year, collected Rs.7 crore during the same period this year. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation collected Rs.7.97 crore from November 11-20 this year.

According to officials, the demonetisation effect coupled with the amnesty scheme for defaulters announced last week may lead to November and December being the best months for collection.

The SDMC, which managed to collect about Rs.650 crore in property tax in the last financial year, is expecting to exceed its Rs.715 crore target for property tax collection, said a senior official.
 

GHMC may get Rs.500 cr. by reassessing properties

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The Hindu        09.09.2016  

GHMC may get Rs.500 cr. by reassessing properties

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is banking on property tax reassessments for commercial properties, newly constructed buildings and those under the Rs. 1200 payment per annum bracket to increase its property tax collection by Rs. 500 crore for this year.

Last year, it earned Rs. 1050 crore in property tax and it had to give up Rs.88 crore following the Government’s decision to waive tax for properties paying Rs. 1200 per annum and below. With the Government sitting on the proposal to hike the property tax rates which were earlier raised for residential properties in 2002 and commercial in 2007, the municipal corporation has been forced to look within to raise resources.

Commissioner B. Janardhan Reddy at a meeting with his senior staff on Thursday wanted them to concentrate on these categories and also trade licence fees to obtain more revenue. He pointed out that by checking the veracity of 60,613 properties paying Rs. 1200 as tax, about 26,219 properties were reassessed and Rs. 14.34 crore was realised.

Therefore, he reasoned, if the Deputy Commissioners and bill collectors diligently scan through the remaining five lakh properties under the same tax band, Rs. 100 crore can be collected even if 50 per cent is verified thoroughly. Similarly, there were 1.40 lakh commercial properties but 40,000 had taken trade licences last year while the figure this year is 35,000. Hence, there should be focus on bringing them into the tax net and also look into the fines being charged for those not taking trade licenses.

TSSCPDCL data

Mr. Reddy advised the officers to make use of the data of the TSSCPDCL and commercial tax departments as well as phone numbers of the tax payers to collect precise information about the properties and also to send tax updates and payment schedules.

Central and State Government properties number about one lakh and up to Rs. 180 crore can be realised from them so also by reviewing the fee from municipal estates and check bounce cases.

 

No need to collect SWM cess from places of worship: MCC

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The Hindu      Karnataka  (Managaluru)      08.09.2016 

No need to collect SWM cess from places of worship: MCC

The council of the Mangaluru City Corporation has decided that there is no need to collect solid waste management (SWM) cess from public places of worship in the city.

The civic body not collecting the cess from them has come under the scanner of the office of Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

The CAG which audited the accounts of the corporation from 2012-13 to 2014-15 has objected to not imposing SWM cess on temples, churches, mosques and other public places of worship.

It is estimated that the city has about 231 public places of worship.

The audit report has said that even if a minimum of Rs. 600 was imposed as SWM cess on them per annum the civic body should have got Rs. 4.15 lakh from them in three years.

Whip in the council M. Shashidhar Hegde told The Hindu that the civic body collected the SWM cess from halls rented out in the premises of places of worship for commercial purpose.

On the other hand, public places of worship are exempted from paying property tax under Section 110 of The Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976. Even though the audit report has raised objection there is exemption under law.

Hence the council has decided that there was no need to collect the SWM cess from the main structures of public places of worship.

Officials at the civic body had placed the objection raised in the report before the council for taking a decision. The council has dropped the subject and hence it would not be tabled again, Mr. Hegde said.

The corporation collected the SWM cess along with property tax since 2014-15. Section 103 (B) (2) of The Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976, empowered the civic body to collect the cess with property tax.

The CAG had objected to not imposing SWM cess on temples, churches and mosques

 


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