Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Tax payment on credit card good: Corpn.

COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore Corporation seems to be benefiting from de-centralising tax collection. Less cumbersome means better tax compliance and payment of taxes by credit card is one such instance, say officials.

The Corporation launched this mode of payment at its zone offices and facilitation centres in order to enable people to avoid waiting at its tax counters.

The first step towards offsite payment was the tie-up more than five years ago with nationalised and private banks. People were then allowed to pay the taxes at the banks as an alternative to the counters at the zone and main offices.

Even as payment at 17 such banks was made possible over a period of time, the Corporation opened facilitation centres at various parts of the city to provide a similar option for smooth payment. In January this year, the Corporation installed cash and cheque deposit machines at a couple of its offices as yet another step in simplifying tax payment.

Simultaneously, it also launched the credit card system to enable people to pay taxes online from home. From January this year, till Thursday (May 22), the Corporation has collected Rs.27.44 lakh Property Tax, drinking water charges, Vacant Land Tax and other charges.

The payment using credit card can also be done at the facilitation centres and zone offices of the Corporation, the officials say.

Payment at the bank counters is appreciable. Assistant Commissioner (Revenue) R. Prabhakaran said on Thursday that Rs.4.09 crore was collected at the banks in the last financial year (April 2007 to March 2008).

This was 10 per cent of the total target. The collection from April 1 this year till Thursday (May 22) was Rs.13.30 lakh.

Apart from the ongoing exercise of bringing non-assessed buildings and additional structures into the tax net, the Corporation is optimistic of earning good revenue through the credit card payment facility.

De-centralisation of collection and providing more people-friendly tax collection facilities will help improve revenue, the officials say.

This has already been proved by the collection at the banks and facilitation centres. Wilful default, however, happens despite the provision of all these facilities.

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