JOIN USChairman of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Taxation and Finance Committee, M Shivaraju, on Tuesday accused the Opposition BJP leader in the Palike Council, Padmanabha Reddy, of misleading the people on the property tax for petty political gain.
Shivaraju was referring to Reddy’s claims that due to the faulty online computing system, his property tax had reduced drastically from Rs 34,850 last year to Rs 1,788 this year.
Reddy said on Tuesday the error happened because the new software accepted 2008-09 as the base year for calculating the tax when he had a vacant site.
Valid permission
“The software did not take into account my building, which I had constructed after obtaining all the valid permission. It does not take into account my last year’s tax payment,” said Reddy.
He cited many examples, including that of his wife whose property tax showed a drastic reduction.
Problems galore
“Problems galore in the Web-based property tax software. People are suffering because of it. Many people have not paid their tax because of the faulty collection, while the deadline for five per cent concession on tax is reaching closer,” said Reddy. Countering the allegations, Shivaraju said Reddy had lied to mislead people.
“Taxes are paid under the Self-Assessment Scheme. Whatever you declare will be accepted in the computer. Reddy had declared that he has a vacant site. Hence, the taxable amount reduced from Rs 35,000 to Rs 1,788. This is nothing but misleading people for petty political gain,” said Shivaraju.
He even showed Reddy's property tax records, where the previous year’s tax paid amount was shown.