KOCHI: Newly elected deputy mayor of Kochi T.J. Vinod has made it clear that he wants additional revenue sources and measures to boost the city corporation’s weak exchequer.
While attending the first ‘Meet the Press’ programme after assuming office, organised by the Ernakulam Press Club on Thursday, T.J. Vinod said that measures to increase revenue sources including revision of property tax might be considered to boost the financial health of the local body.
“Though the state government’s concurrence is needed to take any decision on revising tax, which has not been changed for the last 22 years, my personal opinion is to make some amendments in the existing tax system. The government has prescribed the new tax structure based on floor area ratio from April 2013, but it is yet to be fully implemented in the city and the new tax system is applicable only to new buildings. However, other municipal corporations like Thiruvananthapuram have already switched to the revised tax system,” said the new deputy mayor.
According to Mr Vinod, tax exemption to buildings with less than 660 sq ft should be amended in case if the building was rented out for commercial use.
“In the city, there are many rental buildings with less than 660 sq ft which should be imposed realty tax. Though the state government has exempted buildings with an area of up to 2,000 sq ft from tax revision, a revision of at least 10 to 20 per cent should be imposed,” remarked Mr Vinod.
Stressing the need to tap maximum revenue sources, he said that the corporation’s commercial establishments were not fetching enough revenue and their rent should be increased accordingly.
“At present, the civic body gets only Rs 3 crore annually as rent from its commercial establishments, which is grossly undervalued. The professional tax collection, Rs 26 crore per year, also has to be augmented,” he said.
The corporation’s average annual revenue is to the tune of Rs 106 crore of which Rs 80 crore is being spent for salary and allowances alone.
The new deputy mayor also briefed on the series of projects, the new council is planning to take up, including Smart City, road development, drainage master plan, sewage and septage treatment plants and resolving water logging.
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