KMC likely to withdraw its property tax waiver scheme

According to a decision taken at the member mayor in council (MMIC) meeting on Wednesday, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is likely to withdraw its property tax waiver scheme.

KMC sources said that the scheme is likely to operate till September and it will be withdrawn thereafter. Mayor Firhad Hakim has said that the scheme though introduced with the noble intention of allowing people to clear their due property taxes has now led to many exploiting it by deliberately not pay taxes on time so they can avail themselves of the benefits of the scheme.

Sources said that the scheme has become a bane for the civic body as it is not fulfilling the objective which was to ensure a steady inflow of revenue to the treasury through property taxes.

This scheme has affected the influx of revenue to a great extent. Hence, at the MMIC meeting conducted on Wednesday, it was decided that the scheme must come to an end. The property tax waiver scheme was introduced so assesses who had huge tax arrears can clear their taxes under the scheme which offered a 50 per cent waiver of interest and a 99 per cent waiver in late fines. It is learnt that in the property tax waiver scheme, KMC’s assessment department has collected a reasonable amount of outstanding dues of Rs 535 crore approximately.

Presently, the KMC has taken several initiatives to ensure proper collection of property taxes which include the ‘Duare Poura Pariseva’ initiative where camps are organized in KMC wards where personnel from the assessment collection department help citizens with mutation and self-assessment form-related issues. Now, KMC will recruit more people who can visit homes under this initiative to help people with property tax issues.

A nominal amount will be charged for the service. This was mainly started to ensure taxpayers don’t fall into the trap of middlemen who often mislead people for money.