Now Reading: Chennai corporation halts property tax reassessment after backlash
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Chennai corporation halts property tax reassessment after backlash
The Greater Chennai Corporation has suspended its property tax reassessment exercise with immediate effect, following multiple petitions demanding its withdrawal. In a statement on Thursday, the civic body said tax will revert…
The Story in Brief
The Greater Chennai Corporation has suspended its property tax reassessment exercise with immediate effect, following multiple petitions demanding its withdrawal. In a statement on Thursday, the civic body said tax will revert to the amount charged before the revision, and those who already paid the revised demand will get the excess adjusted against future half-yearly instalments.
The corporation had issued 3.49 lakh revised tax notices to properties it considered under-assessed, without increasing tax rates. Officials told The New Indian Express that 28,382 assessees had accepted the new demand, and the civic body had collected an additional Rs 11.10 crore as of Thursday. The exercise was launched amid a fund crunch to boost tax revenue.
The Indian Opinion
The usual narrative pits a cash-strapped corporation against aggrieved property owners, but the numbers here are revealing. Only 8 percent of those who received notices accepted the revision, yet the corporation still collected Rs 11.10 crore, suggesting many under-assessed properties were yielding far too little. The real question is not whether the corporation should drop the exercise, but whether it should start afresh with fairer valuations and a transparent appeals process. Will the next attempt name the criteria for 'under-assessment' publicly?
Source: newindianexpress.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
