Salt Lake tax to be levied after May 13

Suman Chakraborti TNN 

Kolkata: Residents of Salt Lake had better brace to pay property tax right after the assembly election results are declared on May 13. The Trinamool-run Bidhannagar Municipality is waiting for declaration of the election results before it starts sending tax bills to residents of the township. 

Neither municipality chairperson Anita Mondal nor vice-chairman and Trinamool candidate from Rajarhat-New Town assembly constituency, Sabyasachi Dutta, would speak on the issue now, preferring to reserve their comments till May 13. 

The civic authorities had, earlier, said they had come up with a new property tax structure in accordance with the Bengal Municipal Act, 1977. It had also been decided earlier to collect property tax with effect from April 1, 2010. The Trinamool-led civic board is expecting the party to form the next state government, which would make it easier for them to get the tax structure approved. 

Trinamool sources said the civic authorities will start sending tax bills once party chief Mamata Banerjee approves the tax structure after the election results are declared. Civic authorities plan to discuss the issue with Bidhannagar Welfare Association and other stake holders before the new structure is finally announced. 
Under this tax structure, owners of residential houses will receive quarterly tax bills ranging from Rs 70 to Rs 120. If the civic body collects taxes based on the new structure, it will earn about Rs 1 crore each quarter. 

Civic officials, however, said they would lose about Rs 6 crore a year if they collected taxes following this structure, which prevailed in 1977. But, at least, residents would be happy to pay a lower tax, they said. The civic authorities reduced their spending earlier by not using cars and mobile phones they are entitled to. “We have been trying to earn revenue from sources like amusement tax and parking fees,” said an official. 

The property tax dispute in Salt Lake has been raging since May 2007 when the earlier tax structure framed by the previous Left Front-led civic board was scrapped by the Supreme Court following complaints from the Bidhannagar Welfare Association. Since then, tax collection has been stopped in Salt Lake.