They are worried that citizens, who have followed all building bylaws to construct their houses, might have to pay more. Those who have built more than one floor might have to pay less.
As the tax is calculated on the capital and guidance values of a building, the total cost of land on which a high-rise building is located will be divided by the number of flats, thereby slightly reducing the rate depending on the guidance value of the area.
“This means, the less you build the more you pay and the more you build the less you pay. In other words, if you have followed the building bylaws, you pay more tax and if you have built violating all laws, you are rewarded by paying less tax. Is this fair?” B.K. Goyal, Managing Committee member of FKCCI and Chairman, Association Coordination Committee, asked.
Valuation
“In case of apartments there is no question of guidance value for each flat owner as he/she only has undivided interest over land. Therefore, the apartment block will only have valuation on the cost of construction (Rs 600 per square feet) into the extent of area of the building,” Mr Goyal pointed out.
He presented a list of such doubts at a recent meeting convened by the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
“The law says that if the buildings are built in violation of the sanctioned plan, then the property tax will double. How is the violation calculated? Even if there is five per cent violation, will the entire building be subjected to penalty or only the violated portion?” he told Deccan Herald.
Protest
Opposition to CVS intensified on Monday with several civic groups and residents welfare organisations planning a mass protest on March 26. At a meeting convened by South Indian Women’s Entrepreneurs Associates (SIWA) on Monday, residents of Indiranagar, Domlur, Koramangala, Pai Layout and surrounding areas vowed to launch a ‘no-tax’ campaign.
“We will take an oath not to pay any tax under the new system. We will organise a massive protest on March 26. We will appeal to the Governor Rameshwar Thakur and also seek the intervention of the President of India,” Sujatha Bhaskar of SIWA said.
Siddaramannna of Domlur II Stage Residents’ Welfare Association questioned the logic behind the calculation of tax based on the guidance value of a property.
