By IANS
Bhopal : The cash-starved Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to levy property tax on buildings owned by the state and central governments.
“Since these buildings are so far exempted from property tax – under the Municipal Corporation Act, 1956 – the corporation will have to seek permission of the state government before levying any kind of tax. However, a proposal seeking permission is almost ready to be submitted to the state government,” a BMC official said requesting anonymity.
“While the central government has about five dozen offices in the state capital, the state government has over 10,000 buildings. The municipal corporation hopes to earn a good amount from levying property tax on such buildings,” he said.
Earlier, the BMC would charge a certain percent of the property tax as service tax on buildings owned by the government till directed otherwise by the Supreme Court in 2004.
While it used to charge 75 percent of the property tax – as service tax – from the buildings situated in localities where complete services were provided, in the localities where only partial services were available the charge was 33 percent.
The corporation has in the past earned criticism for taxing people heavily mainly by way of property tax and parking fees.
But Bhopal Mayor Sunil Sood said: “The corporation has every right to collect property tax from these government buildings and others as it provides them services like street lights and sanitation.”
Earlier, the Jabalpur Municipal Corporation had submitted a similar proposal to the Madhya Pradesh Urban Development Department, but nothing came of it.