Opposition parties and members of various resident welfare associations have been strongly opposing the proposed new amendments in the property tax by the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC).
About five days ago, the GVMC had issued a draft notification to revise the tax structure based on market price of the property, as against the earlier method of levying property tax based on the rental value.
In the notification, GVMC Commissioner G. Srijana said that the corporation has proposed a property tax of 0.15% on the market value of residential buildings, 0.30% on commercial buildings and 0.50% on vacant lands for a year.
She also sought suggestions on the draft notice from various sections.
“We have been opposing the methodology for many months. With this, the taxes may be revised whenever the Stamps and Registration Department increases the market value of the properties. What could be the market value of a land after capital shifts here?” said vice-president of Andhra Pradesh Federation of Resident Welfare Association (APFERWAS) K.S.R. Murthy.
According to Mr. Murthy, if the new amendments come into force, the taxes can be different from one area to another, as the market value of the properties varies. CPI (M) leader and Corporator of Ward 78 B. Ganga Rao said that if the proposed new method of levying taxes came into force, the property taxes would increase by three to five times. This would result in an additional burden of ₹700 crore on the residents in Visakhapatnam city, he said.
He said, “Consider an 80 sq. yards G+1 house near Peda Waltair, MVP. As of now, the owners are paying about ₹1,560 property tax as per the rental value. Now, if the property tax is levied on the market value, then as per the Stamps and Registrations Department, one sq.yard of land is about ₹55,000. Now, the market value of 80 sq. yards of land is ₹44 lakh. The building/house value is about ₹25.60 lakh. Combined, the value is about ₹69 lakh. According to the new tax rate of 0.15 %, the new property tax per year would be ₹10,440.”
‘Undemocratic move’
Terming the draft notification undemocratic, General Secretary of Visakhapatnam Apartment Resident Welfare Association (VARWA) B.B. Ganesh said that amid COVID-19 situation, the State government should focus on reducing the burden on the common man and should not bring such amendments.
The members said that the GVMC Commissioner has ignored the council and the Mayor before releasing the draft notification.
