KOLKATA: Come April, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will roll out a new unit-area based property tax regime for taxpayers taking a leap forward from the inspector raj. Under the new Unit Area Assessment (UAA) system, a citizen can calculate his own quarterly tax liability based on parameters already made public by the KMC.
Civic officials expect the tax burden on citizens in general would be less in the new system because the KMC has fixed a much lower tax rate per square feet — 6% to 20% when tax rate in the existing system ranges from 11% to 40%. This is applicable for citizens living in apartments that attract the highest tax rate 40% under the existing system. From April, property tax calculations for flat owners would be simple. KMC will fix the tax based on the covered area of the flat owner and not on the apportioned share of the aggregated annual value of the entire apartment.
The KMC will collect tax in the first quarter equal to what the citizens have been paying under the existing system and adjust it later with the next bill, if the tax for the same building/flat comes out to be lower than that in the existing system. "For instance, a person paying Rs 1000 as quarterly tax will have to pay the same in April. Now if his tax liability under the UAA is found to be Rs 800, the surplus Rs 200 will be adjusted with the bill in the next quarter in July," a KMC official said.
Calculation of property tax under the UAA, however, won't only be based on the covered space the citizens own. The annual valuation of the space will depend on several factors, including proximity to a road with width varying between 2.4 metres and more than 9 metres. However, the KMC has made exception for slums, colonies and housing schemes for economically weaker sections coming under these locations. KMC will charge a nominal tax for this category irrespective of their location.
Under the UAA, KMC has divided the city into six broad categories (A to F) based on utilities and services available in that locality. For instance, a flat at Fern Road will come under B/C category while a similar flat in Naktala will come under D/E category. "We will launch an awareness drive before the switchover to UAA. It will lower the tax burden of the individual tax payer and also fetch more funds for KMC through tax rationalisation," said mayor Sovan Chatterjee.
Source: indiatimes
Civic officials expect the tax burden on citizens in general would be less in the new system because the KMC has fixed a much lower tax rate per square feet — 6% to 20% when tax rate in the existing system ranges from 11% to 40%. This is applicable for citizens living in apartments that attract the highest tax rate 40% under the existing system. From April, property tax calculations for flat owners would be simple. KMC will fix the tax based on the covered area of the flat owner and not on the apportioned share of the aggregated annual value of the entire apartment.
The KMC will collect tax in the first quarter equal to what the citizens have been paying under the existing system and adjust it later with the next bill, if the tax for the same building/flat comes out to be lower than that in the existing system. "For instance, a person paying Rs 1000 as quarterly tax will have to pay the same in April. Now if his tax liability under the UAA is found to be Rs 800, the surplus Rs 200 will be adjusted with the bill in the next quarter in July," a KMC official said.
Calculation of property tax under the UAA, however, won't only be based on the covered space the citizens own. The annual valuation of the space will depend on several factors, including proximity to a road with width varying between 2.4 metres and more than 9 metres. However, the KMC has made exception for slums, colonies and housing schemes for economically weaker sections coming under these locations. KMC will charge a nominal tax for this category irrespective of their location.
Under the UAA, KMC has divided the city into six broad categories (A to F) based on utilities and services available in that locality. For instance, a flat at Fern Road will come under B/C category while a similar flat in Naktala will come under D/E category. "We will launch an awareness drive before the switchover to UAA. It will lower the tax burden of the individual tax payer and also fetch more funds for KMC through tax rationalisation," said mayor Sovan Chatterjee.
Source: indiatimes
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