The hindu 28.09.2010
Board on property tax likely
G.V. Prasada Sarma
| Team of officials will visit West Bengal from October 3 |
It will submit the report to the government by October 15
The hike in property tax has become a contentious issue in Visakhapatnam
VISAKHAPATNAM: The State Government is likely to constitute a board to deal with issues relating to property tax in municipalities and municipal corporations. The setting up of the board on property tax is as per the 13 {+t} {+h} Finance Commission's recommendations.
The Government is sending a team of Municipal officials to West Bengal where a board has already been functioning. The team will visit West Bengal for three days from October 3. The official team is to submit its report to the government by October 15. The team will study how the board is functioning, the modalities and the benefits from such a board.
The team comprises Additional Director in Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department T. Muralidhar, Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) of Tirupati Municipal Corporation Chandramouleeswara Reddy, Municipal Commissioner of Ramagundam N. Satyanarayana and Additional Commissioner (Finance) of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation P. Purnachandra Rao.
The hike in property tax has become a contentious issue in Visakhapatnam with Opposition parties launching an agitation demanding that the government cap the hike at 50 per cent of the tax prevailing on March 31, 2010, in accordance with the municipal general body resolution. An all-party delegation led by Mayor Pulusu Janardhana Rao had represented to Chief Minister K. Rosaiah and Municipal Administration Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy seeking lowering of the tax.
Officials say even in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation the erstwhile municipal corporations that were merged in it have been collecting property tax according to individual gazette notifications and not in a uniform manner. The board is expected to address such anomalies.
