Vijayawada: The Communist Party of India on Tuesday demanded the government withdraw property tax immediately.
The demand came at a round table meeting conducted by the party’s city committee at the Press Club here, where CPI city secretary Donepudi Shankar said that the government has issued GO No. 381 for increasing the property tax.
“At present, the government was collecting Rs 71 crore as property tax from citizens. This burden on the citizens would doubled due to the GO,” he said, expressing regret that the government has already imposed a massive burden in the form of taxes on the people. “The people now are not in any a position to bear a fresh round of tax,” Shankar said.
Vijayawada Chamber of Commerce president Velampalli Ramachandra Rao requested legislators to take necessary steps to ensure that the GO is withdrawn.
He wondered how the government could increase the property tax by 100 per cent at one go.
Builders Association president Raja Lingam said that water, drainage, electricity charges have also gone up due to the hike in property tax.
He asked the people to fight against the property tax hike.
Andhra Pradesh Lorry Owners Association general-secretary Y.V. Eshwara Rao said officials of the local body were mounting the burden due to absence of public representation.
