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Taxation

Property tax collection touches Rs. 5-cr mark

Thursday, 01 April 2010 06:27 administrator
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The Hindu 01.04.2010

Property tax collection touches Rs. 5-cr mark

Staff Reporter

GUNTUR: Notwithstanding the last-minute surge of people to pay the property tax arrears on Wednesday, officers of the revenue section of Guntur Municipal Corporation are set to smile all the way to banks on Thursday.

There has been an unprecedented rush to pay the tax arrears on Wednesday, the last date of the financial year. Revenue officials said that tax collection touched Rs.1.70 crores at about 9 p.m. and this was expected to go up to Rs.2 crores on Wednesday alone.

Ever since the State Government passed GO Ms No 139 on March 27, waiving interest on tax arrears, people had been flocking to the cash counters to pay the arrears. The `offer' was limited to five days including Sunday, but the tax collection crossed Rs.5 crore mark.

The GMC kept all the seven counters at the Citizen Charter on its premises open at Lalapet and the two counters at the circle office in Brindavan Gardens till 12 midnight.

Deputy Commissioner Lakshminarayana said that as against tax arrears of Rs.24 crore, the GMC was able to garner more than Rs.5 crore in the week alone.

The penal interest for the financial year 2008-2009 amounted to Rs.16.67 crores, while the interest on current fiscal up to March 27 was Rs.73 lakhs. The property tax arrears were Rs.12.79 crores and Rs.7.66 crores for the year 2009 and 2010 respectively.

But the revenue officials were also a bit apprehensive about tax collections in future as they feel that interest waivers at the end of financial year might actually act as deterrent for regular tax payers. In the present times of financial crisis, Municipal Corporations could little afford to lose penal interest, one official opined.

Last Updated on Thursday, 01 April 2010 06:31
 

Reddy seeks review of proposed service tax for housing sector

Saturday, 27 March 2010 09:15 administrator
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Business Standard 27.03.2010

Reddy seeks review of proposed service tax for housing sector

BS Reporter / New Delhi March 27, 2010, 0:53 IST

Says his ministry would urge finance minister to reconsider stand.

S Jaipal ReddyThe urban development ministry will ask the finance ministry to review the proposal to bring the housing sector under the service tax net from April 1, 2010.

“We will approach the finance minister in the next few days and ask him to review his decision of bringing housing under the service tax net,” said Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy. He was speaking at a conference on Indian Real Estate organised by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

Real estate players and various industry chambers are already lobbying the government to withdraw the service tax imposed on the housing sector (at 3.3 per cent, with abatement) , as it would discourage buyers.

"This is not the right time for service tax implementation as the government’s objective is to encourage people to own houses. We have to wait for another month or so to see if the finance ministry listens to our request,” said KP Singh, Chairman, DLF Group.

Addressing issues faced by the real estate sector today, the Reddy said availability of land — which is a state subject — has become a major concern. “If we want India to cater to the issue of demand and gap in the housing sector, apart from the central government, it is the state government which should become the facilitator.”

He also said since land is very limited, the best way forward is to go for vertical development (building high-rise buildings) instead of the present approach of going horizontal. “In Delhi, we would allow vertical development of real estate dwellings in older areas and remaining sprawl of Delhi provided the Municipal Corporation and Delhi (MCD) assure availability of all basic amenities such as water, power, etc.”

In this regard, Reddy said the Ministry of Urban Development would soon come out with a new relaxed Floor Area Ratio (FAR) regime without specifying any time frame for it.

Another pertinent point that has been a concern for real estate developers is the number of clearances one has to take to start a project. “Today, there are more than 50 agencies from where we have to take our clearances. We have to ensure that the best way forward is to have a single window system as it would not only save time, but also ensure transparency,” said Navin M Raheja, Managing Director, Raheja Developers Ltd.

“It is very important to have a single window clearance system in real estate sector,” echoed Anil K. Agarwal, Past President, Assocham.

Singh feels if real estate and urban development has to reach a self-sustaining level in India, “we have to follow the way it has been done in the telecom and IT sector”. “We need to have a visionary like Sam Pitroda, who can think centuries ahead in the real estate and urban development sector to formulate policies. Today, we are concentrating on meeting shortages, when policies are being framed. This needs to change fast, as we have to take the aspirations of people when we build a nation.”

Last Updated on Saturday, 27 March 2010 09:18
 

Water Board seeks hike in water tariff

Thursday, 25 March 2010 08:00 administrator
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Deccan Chronicle 25.03.2010

Water Board seeks hike in water tariff

March 25th, 2010
DC Correspondent
Tags: hike, HMWS, More revenues, Sewerage Board, water board, water tariff

Hyderabad, March 24: In a bid to earn more revenues, the Water Board has proposed a hike in the water tariff.

Officials of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board are working out the different slabs and are likely to target the high-end consumers like hotels and other commercial establishments while bringing the hike to effect.

The tariff for the 16-30 kilolitre slab consumers may increase from Rs 8 to Rs 12 or maybe even Rs 14 per kilolitre.

Similarly, for the 31-50 kilolitre slab, there may be an increase from Rs 15 to Rs 20 per kilolitre.

The Water Board expects an increase of Rs 10 crore in its monthly revenue due to the hike. Currently, the Board collects Rs 32 crore as revenue from water bill payments each month against a monthly expenditure of Rs 45 crore.

The water tariff was last increased in 2002. The officials are planning to place the proposals before the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, who is also the chairman of the Water Board. He is scheduled to review the performance of the Board on March 27.

Sources say that domestic consumers, currently, paying Rs 6 per kilolitre are likely to be exempted from the hike. The Rosaiah government is averse to the idea of imposing additional burden on the middle and lower middle classes of the society. When contacted, the Water Board executive director, Mr Ashok Reddy, told this correspondent that nothing had been finalised and there had only been a discussion among officials regarding a hike.

It may be mentioned that Andhra Pradesh was was the first state to increase bus fares.

Even Transco is reportedly proposing a revision in power tariff.

Last Updated on Thursday, 25 March 2010 08:02
 
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