The Hindu       14.01.2011

Corpn. writes to State Government on taxing mobile phone towers

Karthik Madhavan

IN THE NET: The Coimbatore Corporation will levy additional Property Tax
on buildings on which telecommunication towers have been installed. —
File Photo: S. Siva Saravanan

The Coimbatore Corporation has written to the State Government seeking clarification on the way to tax telephone towers.

The civic body had first announced in the 2010-11 budget
that it intended to tax the towers on buildings and vacant lands at a
uniform rate of Rs. 15,000 for half-year to widen its revenue base. It
derived the idea from the Chennai Corporation.

The civic body also said that the taxation would lead to regulation of the towers.

Proposal

Consequent upon the proposal, the Corporation’s Finance
Committee took up the proposal and suggested that the civic body adopt
the method used for arriving at property tax to levy tax on mobile
towers as the proposed flat rate system was not possible.

As per the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation Act a
flat rate for levying tax was not possible, said an official from the
Corporation’s revenue wing.

The Corporation calculates property tax taking into
account the plinth area of the assessment under consideration, base
rate, which varies for residence, industry, mixed, small commercial and
office, hospital, wedding halls, cinemas and other establishments, the
location and type of building and the age of the property under
assessment.

It also takes into account the ward where the property is in, as the property tax varies.

The officer said the Corporation proposed to adopt the
same procedure for levying tax for towers but was not sure of what the
rate should be.

It was for this that the civic body had written to the government.

There are approximately 2,000 mobile phone towers in the
Corporation limits and assuming a half-yearly tax of at least Rs. 5,000
a tower is permitted by the government, it would easily bring in a
revenue of Rs. 1 crore every six months.