MYSORE: The Mysore City Corporation's decision of enhancing the property tax with effect from January 1 has come as a shock to residential and commercial property owners here.

According to a notification of the corporation, the tax payable under the revised rates will not be less than what was paid during 2004-05.

Revised rates

According to the revised rates, owners of choultries and cinemas should pay tax at 1.5 per cent of the market value of the property; commercial buildings will attract 0.9 per cent; residential property owners, who were hitherto paying tax at the rate of 0.3 per cent, will have to bear the brunt of a steep increase as the tax rate has been doubled to 0.6 per cent of the market value of the property.

Likewise, properties of charitable trusts and those engaged in sports and social activities will have to pay property tax at 0.4 per cent. The revised property tax rates for sites up to 1,000 square metres is 0.4 per cent, above 1,000 square metres and up to 4,000 square metres is 0.05 per cent and for sites above 4,000 square metres, the tax rate will be 0.02 per cent.

The corporation has stated that only 50 per cent of the value of the property will be taken into consideration while fixing the revised property tax

Reacting to the corporation's decision of "surreptitiously" increasing the property tax, H.V.S. Murthy of the Federation of Taxpayers' Associations told The Hindu that the federation would mobilise property owners against the corporation's unilateral decision, and pointed out that it was in violation of the law.

Citing the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, Mr. Murthy, who is an advocate, said that enhancement of property tax was the prerogative of elected councillors.

Illegal

The corporation commissioner could not act on his own as the elected body should discuss it in the council and give its approval. When elections to the corporation's council were yet to be held, the decision on property tax was illegal, he added.

The law made it clear that in statutory bodies elected representatives were the guiding factors and administrators could not act in excess of their powers, he said.

The decision is also said to be illegal and in violation of Section 102 (A) and 109A of the KMC Act which clearly states that "notwithstanding anything contained in Sections 101 and 102, the property tax assessed and levied under either provision shall not be assessed each year thereafter and be enhanced by 15 per cent once in every three years commencing from the financial year 2005-06.

Pointing out that according to the above law, the corporation was empowered to increase the property tax only with effect from 2008-09, Mr. Murthy said that he would urge property owners to submit objections against the notification.

Expressing concern over the steep increase which amounted to doubling the tax in respect of residential property owners, he pointed out that pensioners and middle income families would be among the worst affected and it may not be far when self-occupied properties may become unviable for pensioners.

Meeting

He said that a meeting of property taxpayers would be convened shortly to take a decision on the action to be taken against the corporation.

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