Monday, 30 August 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
Unlike in the past two years, Dehradun mayor Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’ has decided to restrict the period of 20 per cent rebate on property tax till September 30 and stated that it will not be extended further this year. Besides this, the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) will soon start setting up camps in the wards to maximise the recovery of the property tax.
The corporation generally provides a rebate of 20 per cent in property tax submission till January but this year, the mayor has limited this period till September end. According to him, most of the taxpayers wait till the last month of the financial year to deposit the property tax and the collection remains quite less throughout the year despite the rebate facility. The last minute rush for tax submission by the public also increases the load on the tax section at that time because many still prefer offline tax submission.
Considering this, ‘Gama’ said that the rebate for this financial year will be provided till September 30 and MCD has no plans to extend it. Though the corporation had set the target of collecting Rs 50 crore as property tax in each of the last two financial years, the MCD could collect only about Rs 45 crores and Rs 36 crores respectively. As per the officials, Covid-19 has adversely affected the tax collection of MCD. This year too, the corporation has received property tax of about Rs four crores only. Since the revenue generated from tax collection is the main source of income for MCD, ‘Gama’ has directed the officials of the tax section to take steps to maximise its recovery. He has ordered them to set up camps at ward levels to make the tax submission process easy for senior citizens and locals of remote areas. He has also asked the tax section to reserve the timing from 3 PM to 5 PM on weekdays for the councillors who bring tax slips of their ward members for tax submission.
Besides this, the mayor has also directed the tax superintendents to send the property tax bills to those who have not deposited the tax last year. “The proper tax collection is important for the corporation to carry out necessary development projects in the city. I have directed the tax section to work efficiently to maximise the recovery of tax from residential as well as non-residential property owners in Dehradun,” stated the mayor.
