PMC proposes hike in annual property tax

PMC proposes hike in annual property tax

PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) administration has proposed a hike of 12 per cent in the property tax, including water tax and sewage charges, for the next financial year. The civic body said it needs to generate more revenue from taxes to meet its increasing expenditure and to provide better infrastructure to citizens. 
 
Municipal Commissioner Saurabh Rao has prepared a proposal in this regard, which will be tabled before the Standing Committee for its approval in its next meeting. Tax department officials admitted that they proposed hike in the property tax. However, the proposal was to be tabled in the committee meeting. 

They would table it before the committee soon.

The civic administration had also tabled a property tax hike proposal last year. But it was rejected by the Standing Committee in the background of the Lok Sabha and state assembly polls in 2019. Now, the civic administration hopes that committee will approve the proposal as the next civic polls will take place in 2022.
  
As per the proposal, the civic administration has proposed a hike of 5.5 per cent in general property tax, 1.5 per cent hike in water tax and 5 per cent hike in sewage charges for 2020-21. The proposed hike would increase the civic revenue by Rs 125 crore. “The new tax structure will be applicable for mobile tower companies and information technology companies,” stated Municipal Commissioner Saurabh Rao in the proposal.

The hike in the tax structure has been proposed to balance the increase in the civic body’s expenditure by boosting revenue collection from its taxes, stated the proposal. The general property tax is currently in the range of 16.75 per cent to 50 per cent. The water tax is 5.75 per cent and sewage tax is 9.5 per cent.

If the proposal is approved, the property tax would be in the range of 22.25 per cent to 55.5 per cent. The new water tax would be 7.25 per cent and sewage charge would be 14.5 percent in the next financial year.

Hike in water charges for 24x7 water supply project 
The civic administration said that the hike of 15 per cent in water charges has been proposed as per an earlier decision by the civic body, to increase the tax by 15 per cent every year till 2020-21, to raise funds for the 24×7 supply project in the city.

The tax proposal has to be approved by February 20, as per the provisions of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act before tabling the PMC commissioner’s budget.  

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