BBMP to hike property taxes by 25-30% next year

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (Palike) has prepared a proposal to hike the tax on residential properties by 25% and on non-residential ones by 30%. The hike is expected to bring in an additional Rs 500 crore for the corporation.

BBMP commissioner N Manjunath Prasad has submitted a proposal to the standing committee on Tax and Finance of the corporation in this regard. The committee will clear the proposal before placing it before the council for approval.

Once approved, the proposal will be moved to the state government and the hike will be effective from April 2019.

According to the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976, the civic body can revise the property tax every three years, with a minimum of 15% and a maximum of 30% for residential and non-residential properties.

After the revision in 2016, taxes went up by 20% for residential and by 25% for non-residential properties in the city. The BBMP’s tax collection saw an increase from Rs 1,403 crore to Rs 1,725 crore.

The commissioner said the BBMP is following norms laid out according to the provisions in the KMC Act. “Every three years, we can increase the property tax. As we are already in November this year, I have initiated this (proposal) now so that we get all approvals to ensure it will be effective from April 2019,” said Prasad.

When asked about the possible resistance to the move from citizens, Prasad said they were collecting the tax to provide better infrastructure.

“There is a misconception that we are collecting a lot of money and not providing proper infrastructure. How can we provide facilities if we do not have enough funds?” he asked.

The BBMP collected Rs 1,777 crore in 2017-18, much below its target of Rs 2,600 crore, which is expected to go up slightly in 2018-19. The commissioner said the increase in property taxes is expected to bring in an additional Rs 500 crore for the corporation in 2019-20.