Following the controversy over a hotel on Gajalakshni Theatre Road in Ward No. 45 being levied property tax as a residential unit, Corporation Commissioner K. Sivakumar has clarified that the civic body will levy appropriate property tax.
In a clarification note sent to District Collector K. Vijayakarthikeyan on Wednesday, Mr. Sivakumar said that the revised property tax was temporarily halted from September 1, 2018 to April 15 for the purpose of general property tax revision. “As the public raised objections to the revised property tax which was increased after general property tax revision and tax re-assessment and as steps to reduce the tax were under way, the building in question was not taxed,” Mr. Sivakumar said. Property tax dating from October 1, 2018 will be levied on the building, he added. The hotel building was inaugurated on December 14, 2018 and vacant land tax was levied on July 30, 2017 on the plot of land, he said.
This issue came to light when V.P. Ravichandran, an owner of a garment company, made a Right to Information query about the hotel building and released copies of the documents on social media recently.
“The building is an illegal construction,” he claimed while speaking to The Hindu, noting that unauthorised buildings cannot be taxed . The owners of the building have constructed 2,000 sq ft per floor while they have permission for only 1,000 sq ft, he alleged. “The only option left is for the District Collector to seal the building,” he said.
