Rajshri Mehta Times News Network 08.02.13
http://bit.ly/bmcptax
Mumbai: The civic body’s decision to compute property tax through a capital-value based system is set for legal intervention. At an urgent special general public meeting attended by nearly 500 people, the Property Owners’ Association (POA) has decided to file a writ petition in Bombay high court. The POA claimed that the new tax system was not only “irrational’’ but “unreasonable’’, too, as it also discriminated between the levy applicable on two properties located in the same vicinity.
The POA has demanded that the civic body compute tax under the old system of rateable value as the new system creates a divide between tenants and property owners, who in turn can evict the former for non-payment. “The tenants and members of co-operative societies do not seem to realize the implications of this decision. By 2015, when the restriction of computing tax at two times the existing value is removed, the tax levy will increase by 18 to 25 times,’’ said B R Bhattad, POA’s executive president. “If the tenant is unable to pay the rent liability under Maharashtra Rent Control Act 2000, the owner will file a suit to evict him. The owner has no option as he cannot increase the rent to recover the high tax dues, otherwise the civic body will attach his property and auction it. The tax should have a reasonable co-relation with the money required for the civic body to fulfil its obligations,’’ he added, pointing out flaws like area, RCC or load-bearing structure in the property data prepared by the BMC. Advocate Mulraj Shah said BMC has neither explained nor justified the reason for levying a different rate of tax at 1.33% and 2.66% of capital values for a shop and an office respectively.
