A storm is brewing in Cuncolim over the Municipal Council’s controversial move to hike the house tax by a whopping 500-1000 per cent depending on the size of the households.
The CMC’s move has come under the scanner of activists and citizen and has not found favour with a section of city fathers as well.
CMC Chief Officer Pandarinath Naik said that the council has set in motion the process to hike the house tax based on sq mt area. Hitherto, old houses in the jurisdiction of CMC have been paying a lump sum amount as house tax – a facility that was extended to the villagers to ally their apprehensions on the payment of hefty taxes when the village panchayat was upgraded into a municipal council in the mid 1980s.
Presently, old residential houses pay house tax in the region of Rs 100-300 annually and it is feared in many quarters that the CMC proposal for a tax hike may increase the tax to between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 annually depending on the area of the house.
The CMC CO, however, said that revision of house tax in Cuncolim has been long overdue. “Records show that households presently pay house tax ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 250-300 in Cuncolim. The CMC has to revise the tax rates in tune with the government circulars issued time to time and to mop up additional revenue to pay the staff salaries,” he said. As per the proposal, existing houses will be liable to pay tax of Rs six per square metre area and Rs eight per sq mt area for a ground plus one storey structure.
The CMC move to effect a hike in the house tax has kicked up a row with activists and tax payers slamming the civic body for the decision. Says social activist Ronny Dias, “How can the civic body propose a steep hike in house tax by taking shelter of an audit report which has pulled up the municipality for the poor recovery? I feel that civic body should immediately get its act together and start recovery of all dues. It is not fair to pass on the burden on the honest tax payers, while others don’t pay at all and yet get protection of the council and the municipal staff,” Dias said.
Moreover, he pointed out that while the CMC is moving with alacrity to increase the house tax, the civic body has been silent on bringing under tax thousands of rooms and premises which have been leased out on rent to tenants. “To my knowledge, majority of these landlords do not pay the mandatory one month’s rent to the civic body, but enjoy all the facilities such as garbage collection, besides the NOCs and certificates,” he asserted.
The CO admitted that the CMC has failed to mop up the revenue by way of rent from the rented premises. “Those who have lodged their objections and suggestions to the tax proposal will be given a hearing. The new house tax rates will come into effect from April 1,” the CO added.
Citizens and activists have decided to seek the intervention of the Cuncolim MLA Rajan Naik to stop the chief officer from going ahead with the new tax proposals. The CMC move to effect a hike in the house tax also coincides with the council’s decision to levy annual garbage fees of Rs 365 for the collection of waste door-to-door.
