Evasion of property tax has come under the Lokayukta scanner in Madhya Pradesh. The Lokayukta has asked the state government to make sure that property tax should be paid timely and by all individuals, organisations and agencies except for those exempted by law.
“In many cases, individuals and organisations do not pay property tax, we have taken notice of it and have issued notices to all 14 Municipal Corporations to ensure that property tax is paid in time,” P P Naolekar, Lokayukta told Business Standard.
Most of the state municipal corporations survive on various grants and decide independently on property tax that includes various other taxes like water tax, education cess, light tax and other taxes which are levied irrespective of the fact whether the services are available to the properties.
“There are some organisations that are exempted from property tax by law. But we will make sure that all individuals and organisations that are liable should pay tax,” said SPS Parihar, secretary department of urban administration said.
Property tax in Madhya Pradesh has been doubled in the last one year, most of the localities are either bereft of basic amenities like water, road, light and sanitation or manage privately through a cooperative model, yet municipal corporations include various cess and taxes in property tax.