Property Tax to make you bleed

BENGALURU: Come April, property owners will be faced with a property tax hike that could be as much as double to treble what residents currently pay. The revised tax will become applicable from April 1. Protests from members of Citizens' Action Forum (CAF) against the hiking of the tax, notwithstanding , the cash strapped BBMP hopes to get additional revenue of Rs 600 crore from the revised property tax. Residential properties will see a hike of 20 per cent in property tax while commercial properties will have to fork out 25 per cent more.

The revision of property tax zones is another shocker for residents, which will burn a deep hole in their pockets. Currently, the BBMP has six zones (A. B. C. D. E and F) with different tax slabs. Properties falling under A zone pay the highest, while those in the E zone pay the lowest. The Palike might move some of the areas into higher zones, forcing the residents to pay higher property taxes.