BBMP to reduce parking tax for residential properties amid backlash

Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has decided to reduce parking tax for residential properties.

The move comes after the civic body's proposal to fix the parking tax based on unit area value (UAV) of Rs 2 per square feet triggered a backlash from residential associations, with citizens alleging that the BBMP was attempting to offset revenue losses from commercial properties by passing the burden onto residential units.

In a press note issued on Monday, the BBMP said the parking tax would be reduced by taking into account feedback from citizens.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is expected to announce the final decision on the extent of reduction. In all likelihood, the revised parking tax will be lower for residential units and significantly cheaper for commercial properties — particularly large office spaces and shopping malls — when compared to the rates they have been paying for decades.

According to the BBMP, the average parking tax for commercial units used to be Rs 7 per sqft so far while it was Rs 2.10 per sqft for residential properties. However, for many residents, the parking tax came much lower.

In the draft notification, the civic body had proposed Rs 2 per sqft for residential properties and a significantly lower amount of Rs 3 per sqft for commercial properties.

This has irked several citizens, who allege that the civic body is trying to offset the tax losses from commercial properties by passing it onto residential properties.

Officials insisted that the parking tax component has been a part of the property tax since 2008. "Whoever provided parking space was charged only 50 per cent of the total property tax so far. We will bring it down further. An announcement on this will be made by the deputy chief minister," an official said.

People are urging the government to waive off the entire parking tax for residential properties, which provide adequate space for parking their vehicles. They say that parking tax must ideally be levied on properties that don't provide parking spaces.