Property Tax is mere pocket money for BMP

Property Tax is mere pocket money for BMP
Deccan Herald

Revenue returns by way of Property Tax may be small solace to Bangalore Mahanagara Palike though the collection in the 11 months so far this financial year, has exceeded last year’s figures.

As on Monday, Property Tax collection for the year stood at Rs 217.83 crore, well over Rs 198.58 crore collected during 2004-05. The total collection by March-end this year is expected to touch Rs 260 crore.

Reality, however, is different. The revenue potential from the 6,09,000 properties in BMP limits is in the order of Rs 350 to 400 crore.

“It will still be a realistic score for us,” said BMP sources of the Rs 260 crore collection envisaged. It is in tune with the annual increase in Property Tax collection witnessed over the last few years, they said.

The gap between BMP’s expenditure and revenue collection, however, continues to be ‘huge’, observed Commissioner K Jothiramalingam. But there are no easy answers to the lag in realising the actual revenue potential. “Guidance value of land remained frozen for six years. How then do you expect the raise,” queried BMP Additional Commissioner (Finance) P K Srihari. Also, under SAS, Property Tax assessees could be under-valuing their property, he said. “That is one drawback in the SAS scheme,” he opined.

There are false declarations too. “The tax on rented premises is always evaded, the usual explanation being that a daughter or a son lives in it,” observed a corporator closely connected with this year’s budget process. The corporator also referred to the disparity between what is ‘put in’ and what is ‘reaped’.

“The BMP has provided Rs 1 crore as ward grants. But look at the returns from some of the wards,” the corporator said, giving some of the ward-wise returns - Rs 45.78 lakh in Binnypet (ward 31); Rs 52.97 lakh in Yeshwanthpur (ward 3); Rs 83.10 lakh in Vijayanagar. “Are these figures anywhere close to the actual potential of these wards,” questions the corporator.

TAX COLLECTIONS

Property tax collections in the 30 revenue divisions of BMP between April 1, 2005 and Feb 20, 2006 (in lakhs)

Yeshwanthpur: Rs 345.74

Sanjayanagar: Rs 300.46

Malleshwaram: Rs 460.90

Mahalakshmipuram:

Rs 506.50

Gayathrinagar: Rs 274.08

Rajajinagar: Rs 330.35

Sri Rama Mandira:

Rs 425.79

Gandhinagar: Rs 572.72

Chickpet: Rs 597.89

Chamarajpet: Rs 795.09

Binnypet: Rs 300

Govindarajnagar:

Rs 323.36

Chandra Layout: Rs 371.13

JJR Nagar: Rs 122

Basavanagudi: Rs 647.08

Hanumathanagar:

Rs 521.92

Padmanabhanagar:

Rs 630.57

Jayanagar: Rs 1,077.03

Homebegowdanagar:

Rs 659.23

Madivala: Rs 904.17

Koramangala: Rs 77.19

Shanthinagar: Rs 2,447.15

Jeevanbimanagar:

Rs 1,539.57

Shivajinagar: Rs 1,581.78

Bharatinagar: Rs 919.83

Banaswadi: Rs 595.84

Sarvajnanagar: Rs 568.63

Jayamahal: Rs 414.22

Hebbal: Rs 548.47

KG Halli: Rs 246.37

TOTAL: Rs 21,783.66

BREAK-UP

Of the Rs 217.83 crore collected between April 1, 2005 and February 20, 2006, the highest collection among the 30 revenue divisions is from Shantinagar division - Rs 24.47 crore. It is followed by Shivajinagar division at Rs 15.81 crore and Jeevanbimanagar at Rs 15.39 crore.

Multi-storeyed structures, commercial buildings account for these high collections, say officials.

The zone-wise figures are as follows: Rs 96.39 crore in East Zone; Rs 55.56 crore in South Zone and Rs 46.09 crore in West Zone.