Property tax hike may be limited to 15 per cent

Following the recent Government Order pertaining to the property tax hike, the Corporation has decided to rationalise the tax rates in the city, where the residents of the newly added areas are paying higher tax rates than the residents in the core city. Under this GO, the government had accorded permission to increase the rates up to 50 and 100 per cent.

But according to an official privy to the developments, the rates would be increased between 10 to 15 per cent, and an official order on which would be issued in few days.

“This hike will be made only to rationalise the tax rates in the city rather than increasing the rates abruptly. Areas where the rates are higher will witness a minimum hike (10 per cent), while those areas now paying lower rates will be marked a 15 per cent hike. The revision and rationalisation will be made based on guideline values of the properties,” another official said.

According to the Government Order issued in July, the Greater Chennai Corporation and other local bodies were given permission to increase property tax up to 50 per cent more for residential buildings and 100 per cent for rented residential buildings and non-residential buildings. However, following the opposition, the tax hike slab for rented residential buildings, too, was reduced to 50 per cent.

Once the decision of increasing tax rates materialises, it would be the first revision of property tax in the city in 20 years, as the civic body revised the tariff last in 1998.