Delegation of Mayor, MLAs to meet Urban Development Minister, CM over property tax issue

Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur said here on Thursday that a delegation of the Mangaluru City Corporation council with two city MLAs will meet the Urban Development Minister and the Chief Minister in Bengaluru soon to discuss matters related to the revision of property tax.

Addressing presspersons, the Mayor said that the council in its last month’s meeting had unanimously decided to hike the property tax by 3% based on the guidance value of properties (in Mangaluru) fixed by the State government on February 19, 2021. But the Commissioner of the corporation instructed the revenue officials to collect the tax on the basis of guidance value of properties revised as on October 1, 2023. It has resulted in a steep hike in the property tax.

He said that the Commissioner is bound to implement the resolution passed by the council. If it is against the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976 the Commissioner should write to the government on the same and act further based on directions from the government. But in this case the Commissioner has taken the decision himself against the resolution of the council and without consulting the government. It will be brought to the notice of the government, the Mayor said.

The BJP councillor Sangeetha R. Nayak, who is also an advocate, said that the Commissioner is bound to convey the government the decision of the council within 15 days of passing the resolution. The Commissioner cannot take an unilateral decision contrary to the resolution of the council without the government’s direction, she said.

The Mayor said that the government has made it clear that the property tax should be revised without reducing the annual tax demand and without making it a burden on the people.

Mr. Shetty alleged that the government hiked the guidance value of properties last year to augment more revenue as it faced a dearth of revenue for diverting its funds for implementing guarantee schemes.

Referring to the protest by the Congress councillors in the council meeting on the day, the Mayor said if they were really interested to reduce the tax they could have brought it to the notice of Urban Development Minister B.S. Suresh when he visited the corporation a week ago. “The Congress members are demanding for reducing the tax now and by making it an issue for their advantage in view of coming Lok Sabha elections,” the Mayor alleged.