Major issues to do with property tax in the city are set to be resolved with the Tamil Nadu State Property Tax Board planning to review the existing system.
After a long wait, a meeting will be held this week to discuss major issues caused by a lack of periodic revision in the old city limits. The Chennai Corporation has not revised property tax rates for two decades. But the merged municipalities and panchayats revised the property tax frequently. After the merger of the local bodies with the Chennai Corporation in 2010, the difference in property tax rates emerged a key issue. But it is yet to be resolved.
Issues relating to rebate for owners who occupy houses only in the core city, low basic rates in some areas, different formula for calculating the annual value and education tax in the core city are also likely to be resolved shortly.
The Tamil Nadu Property Tax Board Act came into force on November 1, 2014. But decisions relating to property tax are yet to be made by the board, said officials. The State government decided to constitute the Board owing to the recommendation by the 13th Finance Commission.
It was set up to assist the urban local bodies in putting in place an independent and transparent procedure for assessing property tax. The Board is also likely to make a decision on enumerating all properties within the jurisdiction of the Chennai Corporation, review the property tax system and make suggestions for a suitable basis for assessment and valuation of properties and on the modalities for periodic revision.
The State government can get performance grants for local bodies from the Finance Commission only after the constitution of a State Level Property Tax Board.
