Kumari Palany & Co

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Chennai Corporation’s property tax collection up after 4years

Posted on: 15/Oct/2012 11:33:07 AM
The Chennai Corporation`s property tax collection for the half year ending September 30 has crossed 210 crore — the highest for the first half-year period in more than four years. 

The civic body has regularly fallen short of the property tax collection target. The tax collection from April 1 to September 30 this year at 167.67 crore from the zones which made up the city corporation before expansion is 18% more than 149.27 crore collected in the same period in 2011. For the same period in 2010, 146.45 crore was collected. 

Also, the tax collected in the first half-year period is more than 40% of the target the corporation had set for the full year — 477 crore. 

Property tax is levied twice a year, but residents usually pay the full amount in March. So, tax collections have always remained low till February in the last few years. 

TOI had reported that the corporation managed just 227 crore from April 2011 till February 2012.  

Apart from the fact that the civic body`s perimeter increased from 174 sq km to 476 sq km, increasing avenues for property tax payments and awareness have contributed to the rise in collections,

Early this year, the corporation began reviving property tax payments through mobile phones and introduced payments at separate counters in 226 bank branches across the city. 

 They also put a lot of pressure on the 10.71 lakh assesses giving them new targets and questioning shortfalls in their wards and areas. 

With property tax being the civic body`s main source of revenue, the increased tax collection is likely to give infrastructure projects a shot in the arm.