To boost income, exemption on property tax cancelled

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, April 21

Residents with houses measuring 125 square yard and vacant plots may also have to the pay property tax every year as the state government, in order to improve the economic condition of municipal corporations and to take funds from the Union government under the Amrut scheme, has decided to cancel the relaxation on the property tax given by it so that 100 per cent tax can be recovered.

The state government has prepared a draft policy to renew the rates of property tax and will send it to all municipal corporations, municipal councils and panchayats to seek their objections and suggestions.

As per the draft policy, around 31,636 owners of houses measuring 125 square yard besides the owners of 24,000 vacant plots will now have to pay property tax every year. It is expected that the MC will recover around Rs 1 crore from around 55,000 residents.

It is pertinent to mention that in 2013, when the state government abolished house tax and implemented property tax, it had granted exemption to houses measuring up to 125 square yard from paying property tax. It had included the owners of vacant plots also for the payment of tax. But in 2014, the government also granted exemption to the vacant plot holders from the tax, but the present Congress government in Punjab has decided to cancel these exemptions.

Accordingly, the state government has decided that houses measuring 50 square yard wil be charged Rs 50 while Rs 100 will be charged as property tax from houses measuring 125 square yard.

Under the new policy, freedom fighters, ex-servicemen, widows and the physically handicapped have been granted full exemption from paying property tax on one residential house. If they have more than one house, then they will be required to pay full property tax on the others. No exemption has been granted on commercial buildings.

The government has even decided to cancel the 50 per cent rebate given to educational centres, institutes, schools and colleges as the present government was collecting property tax from them under the industrial category. Now, the government has decided that they will pay property tax under the commercial category. Commercial rate would be imposed even on godowns.

In the new draft, the government has hiked the rate of property tax for marriage palaces. Earlier, class A marriage palaces paid at the rate of Rs 6 per square yard while class B marriage palaces paid at the rate of Rs 4 per square yard. But now, class A marriage palaces will be required to pay at the rate of Rs 15 per square yard while class B marriage palaces will have to pay at the rate of Rs 12 per square yard.