KMC rakes in Rs 70 lakh from sewage management tax
Friday, 20 December 2013 09:18
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The Times of India 20.12.2013 KMC rakes in Rs 70 lakh from sewage management tax
Kolhapur: Despite the uproar made by corporators of the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation in the standing committee meeting last week, the civic body has raked in Rs 70 lakh from the sewage management tax after a fortnight of the tax being issued, with water tax bills added to it.
Angry residents from the B ward of the city, who received hefty water tax bills due to the addition of sewage management tax, met municipal commissioner Vijayalakshami Bidari on Thursday and demanded repeal of the tax.
Bidari said, "We have to start the sewage treatment plant (STP) by March 31 next year as per the directions of the HC. Our failure to do so may attract criminal charges on the municipal corporation. The city is polluting the Panchganga for the last 50 years and the condition of the river will deteriorate if sewage continues to enter it."
"The sewage management tax has been levied so that we can maintain and operate the STP for the next ten years. The KMC will provide 30% of the funds for the construction of the STP and the operator has to invest the remaining amount. The cash-strapped civic body cannot spend huge amounts of money even on important projects such as STPs," added Bidari.
The KMC needs Rs 7 crore annually to manage the expenses for the maintenance and operation of the STP and so is charging 10% to 25% sewage management tax depending on the water usage through every connection. Convener of the citizens' group Kisan Kalyankar said, "On the one hand the KMC does not provide clean and regular water to the citizens and on the other hand charges heavily by introducing new taxes. We want the tax to be repealed or else we will resort to agitations."
Bidari added, "The issue of adding water tax bills of the last six months to the sewage management tax should not worry residents as the bills would be less in the next few months. Most of our customers use less than 20,000 litres of water in two months and have to pay just 10% of water tax as sewage surcharge. The taxation is progressive as the more the water used the higher will be the tax.
Three traders pay Rs 32 lakh in LBT raids
Friday, 20 December 2013 09:05
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The Times of India 20.12.2013 Three traders pay Rs 32 lakh in LBT raids
PUNE: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) recently raided shops and business establishments of three traders for evasion of Local Body Tax and recovered dues worth Rs 32.30 lakh. The PCMC had sought approval from the state government for conducting the raids.
Municipal commissioner Shrikar Pardeshi on Thursday said the civic body had decided not to take severe legal action against traders not paying LBT. After waiting for eight months for traders to pay the LBT, it was found that a majority of the traders have not registered or have registered for LBT payment but are paying lesser than the actual LBT.
The civic body has prepared a list of traders who were major VAT and octroi payers. However, it was found that some traders were paying less LBT than the earlier octroi amount. In the first phase, it prepared a list of 13 defaulters and sent a proposal to the state government seeking approval for a raid
. After the state government's approval, the corporation raided a furniture trader in Nigdi, an industrial unit in Bhosari, and a motorcycle dealer in Chinchwad.
"The civic body has documentary evidence to prove that these three traders have evaded LBT and it will produce them before the court if they approach the court against us," Pardeshi said.
The civic body has earned LBT of Rs 566.30 crore till November 30 in this fiscal year while it had earned octroi of Rs 776 crore in the corresponding period, last year. It has started distributing LBT certificates and literature to the traders and is conducting a hearing of 2,407 traders who have not paid any LBT or those who have paid less LBT than their octroi payments.
Bands to shame property tax defaulters
Pune: Like the Pune Municipal Corporation, bands in Pimpri Chinchwad will start playing music outside properties whose owners are property tax defaulters. Municipal commissioner Shrikar Pardeshi said the property tax department will launch a special drive to recover property tax arrears by using the musical bands. Ten music band groups will be employed for the drive.
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Pay property tax after work, centre to stay open till 10pm
Thursday, 19 December 2013 10:37
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The Times of India 19.12.2013 Pay property tax after work, centre to stay open till 10pm
GURGAON: The MCG Citizen Facilitation Centre (CFC) for property tax collection will now remain open till 10pm every day, even on Sundays and holidays. The usual closing time for the centre is 7pm.
This order was passed by the municipal commissioner, Praveen Kumar, to facilitate working residents to deposit the tax after finishing their office work. The last date for residents to avail themselves of the house tax rebate is December 31.
"After the extension of the date for rebate by the state government, the property tax collection has gained momentum. So far, about Rs 369 crore has been collected in Gurgaon, of which Rs 150 crore has been collected this year alone," said Anju Chaudhary, joint commissioner, MCG.
"As per the survey conducted by the MCG in 2010, there were about 3 lakh properties in the MCG area then. Out of these, owners of about 65,000 properties have deposited their property tax during the current financial year and availed themselves of the rebate," she said.
The state government announced a property tax policy on October 11 this year in which those who pay tax by December 31, based on self assessment, would get a rebate of 30% for the period from 2008-09 to 2012-13 and 10% for the current financial year. Ten help desk counters have been set up at the CFC to help the tax payers. Similarly, five new counters have been set up to help locate their unique property IDs. In addition, there will be separate counters for women and senior citizens. The tax payers can pay their taxes online also or can deposit at any branch of Oriental Bank of Commerce in Gurgaon.
PAY NOW
- Last date for residents to avail of house tax rebate is December 31
- After the deadline, MCG will send notices to those who have not paid the tax
- Tax can be recovered as land revenue arrears or rent from property. MCG can also confiscate the property
Nashik civic body's revenue through local body tax declines
Thursday, 19 December 2013 10:22
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The Times of India 19.12.2013 Nashik civic body's revenue through local body tax declines
NASHIK: The revenue of the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) through Local Body Tax (LBT) has declined by 3.52 per cent to Rs 410 crore in the first eight months (till November 30) of the current fiscal, compared to the corresponding period in 2012-'13.
Following state government directives, a new tax system came into effect in the limits of the NMC on May 22, 2013, replacing the previous octroi system. However, the NMC has not yet received adequate response from traders. Around 60 per cent of the total LBT-registered traders have not paid the tax since the new tax system was introduced. This has led to the decline in revenue though LBT in the first eight months.
Around 23,500 traders and industrialists have been registered with the LBT, but only close to 9,000 traders are paying taxes. This means that around 14,500 traders have not been paying the LBT.
"It is a matter of grave concern for us that the proportion of tax payers is only 40 per cent. The NMC has decided to take action against tax evaders, including confiscating movable and immovable properties. Notices have been served to 1,500 traders for not paying the tax," an NMC official said.
The total revenue of the NMC through LBT and escort fee on octroi checkposts was recorded at Rs 410 crore on November 30 in the current fiscal, against Rs 425 crore during the corresponding period last year. The revenue of Rs 410-crore includes Rs 269.21 crore as LBT, Rs 8.32-crore as escort fees, Rs 23.47 crore as stamp duty and Rs 109-crore as octroi. Octroi was effective over the period April 1 to May 21 in the current fiscal.
"Replacing octroi, LBT is now the major source of income. But revenue has decreased compared to octroi, since most registered traders have not been paying the new tax. We hope the revenue will increase over the next few months," the official said.
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