Times of India: Coimbatore: Tuesday, January 09, 2018.
As the city
corporation has decided to revise property taxes up by four times, the
opposition parties have condemned the civic body and urged to withdraw its decision.
The
opposition parties also wanted the people to come forward to stop the tax
revision as it would take a toll on them amid the effects of demonetisation and
GST. As per information obtained under the RTI Act by the CPM, the corporation
has decided to collect Rs 2.10 to Rs 3.40 per sqft for tiled-roof houses
against the present rate of 80 paise to Rs 1.10 per sqft. The tax should be
paid every six months. Earlier, there were only two categories but now three
categories - A, B and C. In case of commercial establishments, it varies from
Rs 6.10 to Rs 18.13.
"Though
it was warranted to increase the taxes every 10 years, increasing four times
the present rate cannot be accepted. Now, the central government has stopped
funds to the local bodies due to absence of people's representatives. So, the
lack of funds has created havoc in the developmental projects and also routine
civil body services. Instead of drawing funds from the governments, the
corporation has decided to put the financial burden on the people," said S
Muthukannan, Tirupur district CPM secretary.
"Taking
such a vital decision with the absence of people's representatives would not go
well. It should have taken after the completion of the local body elections,
which would have paved way for the righteous debates on the tax revision,"
Muthukannan added.
However,
former DMK mayor K Selvaraj differed from CPM's stand on the issue. He said,
"It cannot be said that such decision should be taken only with the
approval of the corporation council. But the revision should be fair and it
should not affect the people. We also found that the possible revised tax rates
were high. It should be reduced."
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