Property tax is set to go up in all municipal areas coming under Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, as the Cabinet has approved an amendment to the Act based on the Centre’s direction. Tax is set to be revised in Bengaluru too and government has traded increase in property tax for user fee which now stands dropped.
The Cabinet on Wednesday decided to bring an amendment to sections 108, 109 and 109 A of Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act to revise property tax on residential houses and vacant sites in municipal areas based the guidance of the Union government.
“We are keeping user fee pending and increasing property tax. Till now vacant sites had been kept out of the purview of property tax. This is, however, being changed now,” said Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy, who briefed presspersons. “The amendment had been mandated by the Union government and we had to do it before January 25. This will help the State to increase borrowings from institutions,” he said.
The Minister said that property owners would get some relief as the basis of calculating property tax has been reduced from 50% of the guidance value to 25% of the guidance value. Further, vacant sites below the dimension of 1,000 sq ft. have been exempted from tax.
The Cabinet approved ₹5 crore towards subsidy for silk growers during COVID-19; and ₹5 crore this year towards the construction of 325-ft.-tall bronze statue of Saint Basaveshwara being installed on Sri Murugharajendra Mutt premises in Chitradurga. The government had approved ₹20 crore towards the statue project of which ₹10 crore had been released already.
A ₹25 crore cultural centre at Banandur village in Ramanagaram district in memory of late Balagangadharanatha Swami of Adichunchanagiri Mutt has also been approved, the Minister added.
Among other decisions, the Cabinet approved release of ₹200 crore for filling up of 96 tanks in Tiptur taluk of Tumakuru district from Hemavathy and Yettinhole projects; and upgradation and modernisation of 155 out of 270 ITIs in the State at a cost of ₹4,636 crore, which will be executed by Skills Development department in collaboration with Tata Technologies.
