MCC will write to govt. to slash minimum property tax rate on vacant land, says Mangaluru Mayor

MCC Mayor requests government to reduce property tax rate due to steep increase in vacant land tax burden.

Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) will write to the State government appealing to slash the minimum property tax rate for vacant land or site from 0.2% to 0.1%, according to Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur.

Addressing presspersons on Friday, September 6, the Mayor said that a committee constituted by him took the final decision by holding a meeting on the day. The committee comprised senior councillors of the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress.

The Mayor said that the government will be requested to do the needful for slashing the minimum rate as after the government hiked the guidance value of properties across the State with effect from October 1, 2023, the property tax on vacant land has steeply gone up. It has become a burden on many people owning vacant land and site. Many people have complained to the civic body that the minimum rate of 0.2% fixed is too high.

He said that a delegation of senior councillors, comprising from the ruling and the Opposition, will meet the Urban Development Minister and others concerned, including senior officials, and apprise the government on the need to slash the rate.

According to a circular issued by the government on February 19, 2021, the civic bodies should fix the property tax rate for vacant land not less than 0.2% (minimum) and not more than 0.5% (maximum).

Mr. Kannur alleged that the guidance value of properties in Mangaluru has not been revised scientifically by the District Level Valuation Committee which has not consulted the city corporation before recommending the revision to the State level committee.

The outgoing Mayor said that during his one-year term, after he assumed office on September 8, 2023, the State government has not released any special grant to the civic body. The Urban Development Minister B.S. Suresh during his visits to Mangaluru had announced that the corporation will get a special grant of ₹25 crore and ₹75 crore. “Not even a rupee has been released as announced by the minister,” the Mayor said.