BJP to besiege BBMP office over hike in property tax

Terming the ‘exorbitant hike’ in the property tax as a big blow to the lower and the middle-class families owning properties in the city, the BJP has decided to stage a demonstration and lay siege to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike office on May 3.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Rajajinagar BJP MLA and former urban development minister S Suresh Kumar said BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa would lead the agitation and all the BJP MLAs, with a large number of supporters, will swarm the BBMP office on May 3 if the hike was not rolled back. Kumar termed the hike unscientific and cited examples of 176% increase in the property tax in a residential building and 400% increase in some commercial buildings.

“The BBMP has brought together slums and apartments in the same category in many areas due to the faulty zoning system. Such unscientific way of taxation has resulted in a drastic reduction in tax collection in April. Last year, the tax collection by the end of April was Rs 1,050 crore, whereas till now, Rs 177 crore has been collected,” Kumar said. He also pointed out that the BBMP used to release a handbook whenever there was a revision in the taxes or the zones, but this time no such exercise was carried out.

Kumar recalled that in 1986-87, when a revision in taxes was effected, four BJP corporators had staged a hunger strike. The BBMP has once again created a situation for a hunger strike, said Kumar, adding that the BJP would vehemently protest the exorbitant tax hike.

Opposition leader in the BBMP Council, BJP’s Padmanabha Reddy, said the party would not let the Palike Council function on April 29 if the unscientific increase in the property tax with faulty zoning system was not withdrawn.