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Taxation

Steep hike in property tax for hostels, mansions

Saturday, 29 August 2009 00:54 administrator
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The Hindu 29.08.2009

Steep hike in property tax for hostels, mansions

Staff Reporter



Mansions to be reclassified as tenant commercial.

CHENNAI: Hostels, mansions, lodges and serviced apartments will soon have to pay more property tax with the Chennai Corporation council on Friday passing a resolution to reclassify them as “Tenant Commercial.”

At present, they are classified as residential properties.

Although these establishments serve as temporary residences, they are being used for commercial purpose and hence the reclassification.

The increase in property tax would be up to three times. However, the civic body does not maintain separate data on all such establishments.

For lodging houses, the Corporation levies a special rate of property tax based on the rent that such facilities charge. “In many places, the mansions, which are supposed to let out rooms on a monthly basis, rent them out on a daily basis, which reduces the Corporation’s revenue,” said a senior official of the civic body.

Serviced apartments, which are becoming popular in the city, pay their property tax under the residential category. Such apartments are preferred by companies, those coming for medical treatment and employees of IT firms.

S.Selvakumari, who has a few service apartments, said with the slowdown in the economy, many companies that use to rent out facilities were demanding a reduction in rent. “Our services do not just include bed and room. The cost of pulses, oils and rice have shot up. We have taken this property on lease. This increase in tax would only add to the burden.”

Last Updated on Saturday, 29 August 2009 00:57
 

Civic body to collect Rs 568 cr tax arrears

Tuesday, 25 August 2009 12:03 administrator
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Deccan Chronicle 25.08.2009

Civic body to collect Rs 568 cr tax arrears

August 25th, 2009
By Our Correspondent

Chennai, Aug. 24: City Corporation has planned to intensify the property tax arrears drive as the total arrears to the corporation amounts to about Rs 568 crore. According to corporation commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni about 434 people have property tax arrears above Rs 10 lakh each totalling to a staggering amount of Rs 170 crore.

The revenue authorities have planned to install notice boards revealing the names of defaulters and their arrears. These notice boards will be installed in front of the properties for which the taxes were not paid.

Last year, about Rs 360 crore was collected through property taxes and this year a target of about Rs 400 crore is planned, Mr Lakhoni said.

“Fascinatingly several posh hotels and IT majors have been evading property tax and north Chennai accounts for around Rs 125 crore arrears, while the zones in central and south Chennai account for remaining Rs 443 crore,” a corporation official said. With the revision of sixth pay commission and the expenditure of the civic body shooting up due to new schemes announced in the corporation budget, the pressure is high on the revenue department to ensure that the financial burden of the civic body is met through its annual tax collection process, the official added.

 

Property tax arrears mount to Rs 568 crore

Tuesday, 25 August 2009 10:21 administrator
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The New Indian Express 25.08.2009

Property tax arrears mount to Rs 568 crore

G Saravanan

CHENNAI: With the Chennai Corporation’s property tax arrears (now) staggering at Rs 568 crore and collecting it from the defaulters going to be a mammoth exercise, the civic body is now engaged in a novel scheme to ‘intimate’ them through posters in front of their property itself.

According to a senior Corporation official, 1193 defaulters owe them property tax arrears in the band of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh each, and 434 among them owe more than Rs 10 lakh to the civic body’s tax kitty. The accumulated arrears of the 434 defaulters alone is said to be around Rs 170 crore.

In the first phase, the civic body has started putting up posters at the premises of 434 ‘premium’ defaulters saying they have property tax arrears to them and in the second phase, premises of defaulters falling in the band of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh would also be pasted with such arrears notices.

Of the Rs 568-crore property tax arrears in the city, zones in North Chennai account for around Rs 125 crore, while the zone in central and south Chennai account for remaining Rs 443 crore.

According to civic body sources, top defaulters’ list include several high profile hotels in the city.

COMMITTEE TO STUDY CIVIC EMPLOYEES’ GRIEVANCES: In the wake of resentments among the staff over surrendering of several posts in the Chennai Corporation under the pretext of introducing administrative reforms, Mayor M Subramanian on Monday announced the constitution of a committee of officials and trade union representatives to settle the issue amicably.

Express had carried a news item on the plight of the civic body employees in the wake of reported surrendering of several posts in July. The news item had created a ripple among the staff and the anger led to the civic body to postpone their decision of surrendering posts for few more weeks.

The Mayor said that the committee would submit a detailed report on administrative reforms by September- end.

During the meeting, he disclosed that more than 5,300 posts like cinema operator, gollah, blacksmith had been lying vacant for the past 10 years and that if those unfilled posts were surrendered, the civic body might get additional and other important postings in different departments.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 25 August 2009 10:23
 
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