Mysuru: The Mysuru City Corporation is all set to revise its property tax. It has decided to enhance property tax from 15 percent to 20 percent.
During the Council meeting here on Tuesday, when Mayor Ravi Kumar brought this to the notice of Council members most of the members opposed the enhancement of tax especially on residential properties. At one point of time, heated arguments started between corporators Mallesh and Nandish Preetham. Nandish Preetham who was upset with Mallesh’s attitude walked out of the meeting. Most of the members including former mayor Sandesh Swamy, Corporators Devaraj, Jagadish and Suneel opposed the proposed enhancement in the property tax. As per the proposal, corporation is planning to enhance tax by 15 percent for properties in the categories of residence, vacant plot, vacant commercial plot and industries and 20 percent on those in the categories of NGO, schools and colleges, cinema halls, and Kalyana Mantap (Wedding Halls). After lot of oppositions from the members, Mayor Ravi Kumar assured to revise the rates of various slabs. The MCC officials considered revision of property tax as Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act gives them the power to revise the slabs once in three years.
When the issue was brought up, most of the council members irrespective of their party affiliations, united and opposed the revision. Most of them even advised the corporation authorities to focus on collecting property tax from the people who have not paid for the past many years instead of revising property tax. After a lot of arguments, senior corporator and former mayor Srikantaiah interfered and tried to understand the council of members on the proposed hike of property tax and the reason. “Based on government instruction, once in three years we have to enhance property tax from 15 to 30 percent. But keeping the interest of general public and poor people in mind, though we had provision to enhance from 15 to 30 percent, we have proposed to enhance only upto 20 percent. We have proposed to enhance residential property by 15 percent which is the minimum. If we fail to enhance the tax which is mandatory for every three years, there are possibilities that we may lose funds from the state government”, added Srikantaiah.
Jagadeesh, Corporation Commissioner said, “Once the property tax is enhanced, corporation will get additional revenue of another Rs 15 Crore more. Last year, we had collected Rs 84 Crore through property tax. This year we are targeting Rs 88 Crore. Once the proposed tax is enhanced we may get another Rs 15 Crore.”
Corporation is not having a place to construct houses for Pourakarmikas under Pourakarmika Gruha Bhagya. As per state government’s proposal, when the issue regarding construction of houses on 10 acres land for permanent staff of pourakarmikas under Pourakarmika Gruha Bhagya was taken up, council members said that across the city there is no ten-acre-plot and hence called upon MUDA or Slum Clearance Board to identify the land for the same.
