Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha on Monday said about 40% of the households falling in the municipal corporation and council limits of the union territory did not come under the property tax ambit as they had built-up area below 1,000 sq ft.
While seeking help from the citizens for development of the region, Sinha said his administration’s efforts were aimed to “avoid any inconvenience” to the common man.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in Srinagar, he said, “Work will be done for our cities to become growth centres. The money (from property tax) will be used to bring improvement in services offered to an average citizen. I want to request the average citizens of J&K to help the administration in moving ahead.”
“Statistics show that there are around 5.2 lakh houses in Srinagar, Jammu and other municipal areas of which, 2.06 lakh are built on area below 1,000 sq ft, meaning no tax on 40% of the properties,” he added.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration’s last week’s order to impose property tax in the union territory starting April had not gone down well with majority of the people and leaders of political parties, who wanted such decision to be left to the elected government. Even leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party’s J&K unit have opposed the new tax regime.
{{/usCountry}}The Jammu and Kashmir administration’s last week’s order to impose property tax in the union territory starting April had not gone down well with majority of the people and leaders of political parties, who wanted such decision to be left to the elected government. Even leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party’s J&K unit have opposed the new tax regime.
{{/usCountry}}“As many as 2.036 lakh houses are below 1,500 sq ft which will have to pay a maximum of ₹1,000 as tax annually. Of these 2.036 lakh, 80% will have to pay just ₹600 per year. If I compare it with cities like Shimla, Ambala or Dehradun, it is just one-tenth of what people pay there. However, if a common man feels any inconvenience, he can write to the administration,” Sinha said.
The L-G, while quoting statistics, said that yearly tax burden on 46% of commercial places like shops will be below ₹700.
“There are 1.01 lakh shops in Srinagar, Jammu and other municipalities of which 46% are built on area below 100 sq ft and will have the annual tax expense of ₹700. Of these 46,000 shops, about 80% will fall in the ₹500- ₹550 range. Around 30,000 shops will have to pay below ₹2,000 annually,” he added. “Overall, 76% of shops will have to pay a nominal tax. There can’t be a better system than this. And all this money will go to the accounts of the respective corporations,” Sinha further said.