Coimbatore Corporation proposes new property tax regime

Under the proposed property tax regime, the areas in 100 wards of the Coimbatore corporation would be classified into four zones and a base price per square feet would be fixed only for buildings that were constructed after July 1.

Coimbatore Municipal Corporation, on Saturday, passed a resolution during the general council meeting, according to which buildings constructed after July 1, 2022 would come under zone-based property taxation regime.

The areas in 100 wards of the corporation would be classified into Zone A (bus routes), Zone B (main roads), Zone C (other lanes) and Zone D (slums and underdeveloped areas) and buildings within a particular zone attracts the same base tax, with Zone A being the highest to Zone D being the lowest.

Under this proposed new property tax regime, a base price per square feet would be fixed for the buildings that were constructed after July 1. Depending on the zone and the purpose of usage of the building, the taxes would be fixed in proportion to the base tax. Buildings that were constructed before July 1, 2022 would not be included in this system.

Few councillors opposed the proposed taxation system, alleging that already there were 16 different types of taxes collected within the corporation areas. Residents of Kurichi and Kuniyamuthur areas were paying exorbitant taxes, when those areas were functioning as a Municipality. Councillors alleged that when those areas were annexed to the corporation, they were not included in the corporation tax regime.

Corporation Commissioner, M. Prathap persuaded the dissenting members, that the tabled resolution related to the zonation was only a proposal and final approval would be made after examining all the demands from the councillors and residents within 30 days. The Commissioner also said the classification of zones would be updated every six months after an assessment.