Mayer's Talk

A sharp rise in the cost of construction materials, development commitments across the city and funds requirement for major projects had made property tax increase unavoidable for the Coimbatore Corporation, Mayor R. Venkatachalam has said. After a gap of ten years, the Corporation raised the tax by 20 per cent for residential buildings, 50 per cent for industrial buildings, 75 per cent for commercial complexes and 50 per cent for Government buildings.

“No one is complaining,” contended the Mayor, even as the district merchants’ association passed a resolution condemning the tax increase at last Sunday’s meeting. The Mayor pointed out that an increase in two phases over the last 10 years might have ensured that even this complaint had not been made. But, the once-in-five-years increase had not been done in 2003 and only this could be blamed for making the increase this time appear substantial to some sections. Claiming that only some of the Opposition parties in the Council opposed the tax increase, the larger sections of the public understand the Corporation’s need for it.

“They know that the Corporation has to implement major infrastructure development schemes under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. And, that the Corporation needs to mobilise funds for these. The people know that tax revenue is vital for raising funds for the schemes,” he said. The Mayor said the Corporation already faced the task of carrying out many routine works. The cost of the construction materials for these had gone up.

Apart from these works, basic amenities such as roads, storm water drains and drinking water lines were to be provided to more than 500 newly regularised layouts. The Corporation needed funds for these also. Tax revenue was actually used for providing all these amenities. When the cost of providing the amenities went up, the tax also had to be raised. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has welcomed the tax revision. Chairman of CII’s Coimbatore Zone C.N. Ashok has said in a statement that the increase would help the civic body improve its services and provide better civic amenities.

Stating that most of CII’s recommendations had been considered by the Corporation while revising the tax, the statement said the CII strongly believed in giving value for world-class services. This revision could help in making the services provided by the Corporation world class. The Corporation should ensure uninterrupted water supply, proper underground drainage system, better roads and solid waste management.

The CII hoped that the Corporation would step up e-governance to improve efficiency and ensure transparency in all its functions. Mr. Ashok, however, said the Corporation had ignored the suggestion of collecting Vacant Land Tax annually, based on the guideline value instead of the last transaction value. “The CII believes that this could have brought down the land speculation in the city and thereby attract more investment,” he said. Another recommendation not considered was to treat hospitals on a par with the industry and not as part of the category of commercial complexes and marriage halls. “On the whole, the CII feels that the changes proposed in the property tax will help in a planned growth of the city,” he said.

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