The Kerala Government has announced new tax rates for luxury houses and flats.
The new building tax for houses having an area of 278.74 to 350 square metre (sqm) will be Rs 5,000. The government also decided to bring in the slab rate system for houses with an area of more than 350 sqm and for flats above 185 sqm.
The new tax rate for houses of 350 to 400 sqm in villages will be Rs 6,000. It will be Rs 7,000 in municipalities and Rs 8,000 in corporations. For houses ranging 400-459 sqm, it is Rs 7,000, Rs 8,000 and Rs 9,000 respectively. For houses having a floor area above 450 sqm, an additional tax of Rs 1,000 will be levied for each 50 sqm. There is no tax hike for flats with area of up to 185 sqm. The new tax rate for flats of 185-200 sqm will be Rs 6,000, Rs 7,000 and Rs 8,000 respectively. It will be Rs 7,000, Rs 8,000 and Rs 9000 for flats of 200-250 sq m. However, Rs 1,000 will be levied for each 50 sq m for flats having a floor area above 250 sq m.
Chief minister Oommen Chandy said the additional income mobilisation of Rs 260 crore in additional tax will be collected from the rich. The government has decided to levy a 20 per cent tax instead of 15 per cet on those owning luxury vehicles of value above Rs 20 lakh.
Pending dues in the past five years of non-transport vehicle will be collected through a one-time settlement scheme by levying 30 per cent on the pending dues, while for the transport vehicles it will be 20 per cent.
