Civic chief proposes 11% hike in property tax

PUNE Pune municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar has proposed a 11 per cent hike in property tax for the financial year 2021-22

PUNE Pune municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar has proposed a 11 per cent hike in property tax for the financial year 2021-22.

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Kumar is going to present the corporation’s annual budget at the end of this month and will seek the administration’s permission to increase the property tax before that.

Standing committee chairman Hemant Rasne said, “The municipal commissioner submitted the tax hike proposal. We have decided to call special meeting and the committee will take appropriate decision on it.”

Sources from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said, “We will not accept the hike in property tax proposed. Already citizens have suffered lot due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Many citizens lost jobs and businesses. Increasing property tax would be an injustice. This is an election year, and we cannot risk a tax hike this year.”

Along with property tax, the municipal commissioner also proposed a hike in water tax. It has been already decided that the corporation increase the water tax every year by 5 per cent to execute the 24x7 water scheme.

Rs130 crore windfall

Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is expecting additional Rs130 crore from property tax if elected members approved the hike. This includes an additional Rs110 crore from the recently merged 23 villages.