Corp Will Levy Vacant Land Tax
The Coimbatore Corporation will levy tax on vacant lands only on a square feet basis across the city instead of the present system of a percentage of the market value of the lands in each area. An all-party meeting of the Corporation on Monday discussed this proposal made in the Third State Finance Commission’s recommendations and this would be formally recorded in the Corporation Council at its next meeting.Mayor R. Venkatachalam, Corporation Commissioner Anshul Mishra, Deputy Mayor N. Karthik, officials and leaders of various parties in the council took part. The Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department said in an order dated August 20, 2009 that the levy of tax on vacant lands should be on the basis of a rate per square foot fixed by the government instead of the capital value of the lands. The laws or rules relating to the municipal corporations (other than Chennai) and municipalities had been amended and the amended ones took effect on September 1, this year. The amended rules were now called the Tamil Nadu Town Panchayats, Third Grade Municipalities, Municipalities and Municipal Corporations (Levy of Property Tax on Vacant Lands) Rules, 2009.
The order said the rates had been fixed for three categories of urban local bodies. They were:
A Grade: municipal corporations and special grade municipalities; B Grade: selection grade and first grade municipalities and C Grade: second grade and third grade municipalities and town panchayats. The all-party meeting also approved the Corporation’s proposal to insist on submission of building plans and payment of development charges along with these in order to get buildings assessed for Property Tax. The assessment for tax would be made even if the plans were rejected, Mr. Mishra said after the meeting.
