The Hindu   08.08.2012

State preparing to increase property tax, says MGP

The Mysore Grahakara Parishat has said the State government is preparing the ground for increasing property tax in cities, including Mysore, with the amendment to the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act by a gazette notification (dated 28 April 2012).

“It is surprising that this amendment has drawn little attention in general,” it said in a press release here.

Maximum limit raised

Before the amendment, the maximum rate of property tax that could be levied by the Mysore City Corporation (MCC) on commercial properties was two per cent of the total capital value of the property. “The amendment increases it to three per cent,” maintains B.S. Vanishree of the MGP.

Similarly, the amendment increases the maximum rate of property tax on vacant land less than 1,000 sq. m from 0.2 per cent to 0.5 per cent, vacant land between 1,000 sq. m and 4,000 sq. m from 0.05 per cent to 0.1 per cent (an increase of 100 per cent) and vacant land over 4,000 sq. m from 0.02 per cent to 0.1 per cent. There is no change in the property tax rates for sites on which residential and industrial buildings exist, Ms. Vanishree said in the release.

According to the release, the gazette notification also permits city corporations to exempt ex-servicemen and families of deceased soldiers from paying 50 per cent of the property tax, but the MCC has not passed a resolution on the matter yet.

Rainwater harvesting

“It also mandates rainwater harvesting for all existing buildings built on a site larger than 2,400 sq. ft and on all proposed buildings on sites larger than 1,200 sq. ft,” Ms. Vanishree explained.

“It is surprising that using non-metric units has been prohibited by law since 1962, but the amendment still speaks of square feet,” Ms. Vanishree said in the release.