Mumbai: Congress and Sena say they will oppose property tax hike tooth and nail

The civic body has invited expressions of interest to appoint an expert committee to revise the property tax slab. File pic

Taking the side of citizens, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress are making a hue and cry over the proposed 16 per cent property tax hike in Mumbai from the next financial year. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has, meanwhile, decided to set up an expert committee to examine the entire issue before arriving at any conclusion.

Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson and former Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar said, "They have been asking us what we did in the past 25 years. We have done ample things. Just talk about the property tax. We ensured that all those residing in flats with an area of less than 500 sq ft do not have to pay property tax. Besides this, we also opposed the water tariff hike. It has been just one year since we've been out of power. What need has arisen to raise the property tax by a whopping 16 per cent?"

Former Congress corporator Ravi Raja said, "We are going to oppose any tax increase. The BMC has spent money unnecessarily during the year. The burden is now being put on the taxpayer. About Rs 1,700 crore was spent on beautification without any good results. Such unnecessary expenditure is going to be recovered from taxpayers. We will oppose it tooth and nail."

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BJP leaders claimed they had no knowledge about the issue. "What increase in property tax are they talking about? There is no plan or proposal for any such move. They are all being misguided. Only a committee is being set up to research and reform the current tax system to avoid litigation," BJP spokesperson Bhalchandra Shirsat said.

The civic body has gone ahead and invited expressions of interest to appoint an expert committee to revise the property tax slab for a proposed hike of 16 per cent. The documents invite chartered accountancy firms to work on the revision of property tax slabs to be implemented from the next financial year. As per the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, property tax can be revised every five years. The last revision was due in 2020. However due to the pandemic, it was postponed. The revision, most likely is to come into effect from the coming financial year.

According to the BMC officials, there is an internal committee of municipal officials to decide on the hike in the tax. This committee prepares regulations after studying the matter. A chartered accountant (valuation expert) is appointed as an invited member of this committee to impartially study the financial impact on the BMC by this hike. "According to the Act, the BMC can increase property tax by up to 40 per cent. But we are not going to propose a rise of more than 16 per cent. Also, this will not impact residences of up to 500 square feet, as they are not liable to pay property tax," an official said.

BMC official statement about property tax: As per the provisions of Section 154(1A) of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, the BMC is obliged to change the capital value of land and buildings in Greater Mumbai from April 1, 2020. However, in the wake of COVID, this change was postponed due to government decisions and changes in the Act from time to time.

As per the provisions of Section 154(1a) and 154(1d) of the Act, the civic body is obliged to issue property tax payments for the year 2023-24 after changing the capital value of land and buildings in Greater Mumbai from April 1, 2023. A preliminary study has been started by the municipal corporation with a view to formulating rules for determining the capital value. As a part of this process, a committee within the assessor and collector department will be formed for rule-making, the BMC administration said in a statement.

No of taxable properties in Mumbai

Residential: 1.37 lakh
Commercial: 65,000
Industrial: 6,000

2000
Year last property tax revision was due