The Hindu 15.10.2013
Corporation widens tax net

Coimbatore Corporation’s financial report card for the first half of
this fiscal ending September 30 looks good.. The property tax collection
has improved and so have the dangerous and offensive trade licence
collection, and vacant land tax.
According to Commissioner G.
Latha, the property tax collection, a major source of income for the
civic body, had already crossed 50 per cent for the current financial
year. Starting April 2013 there had been a gradual increase in the tax
collection after she had asked the bill collectors to collect arrears
and bring in new assessments.
After a series of meetings with
officials in all the five zones, she had fixed targets for the bill
collectors. Those who had performed poorly were pulled up and asked to
pull up their socks. As a result, the collection had increased by more
than 10 per cent — the average growth rate in revenue for local bodies.
Likewise,
the collection under the dangerous and offensive license had also gone
up after she had asked the sanitary inspectors to widen the license net
by bring in at least one new assessee a ward a day.
Deputy
Commissioner S. Sivarasu said that following the instruction the
sanitary inspectors had managed to increase the number of assessments by
111 on October 10, 91 on October 09. And for other days the number was
more or less the same.
Ms. Latha said that the Corporation had
accessed the list of industries available with the Employees’ State
Insurance Corporation, Coimbatore, to identify those business and
industrial establishments that were outside the D & O license net to
serve ‘e-notices’ on them.
The number of notices thus far issued
had crossed 10,000, she said and added that as when the business and
industrial establishments respond and then comply, the collection would
further go up.
Recently the Corporation increased the number of
trades covered under the D & O license by more than 85. Mr. Sivarasu
said the Corporation was also keen on improving the vacant land tax
collection.