Vishakhapatanam: Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), in its special council meeting convened on Saturday, approved implementation of the new property tax structure based on capital value of the property as per G. O. No. 198.
As per new structure, owners of vacant sites will have to pay 0.25 percent of property value as tax, private building owners 0.15 percent and commercial buildings 0.30 percent. Following protests, the council agreed to recommend reduction of tax on private buildings to 0.12 percent.
The council meeting, presided over by mayor Golagani Hari Venkata Kumari, okayed the new tax structure amid strong protests by corporators belonging to CPI, CPM, TD and Jana Sena. The corporators went on to stage a sit-in protest in front of the mayor’s podium.
The meeting started with the council paying tributes to former corporators V. V. Rama Rao and Nammi Paidiraju who passed away recently. Additional commissioner K Nallanayya made a PowerPoint Presentation on the new tax structure as per G. O. 198.
Objecting to the move as it would burden people, especially middle and lower-middle classes, opposition corporators started protesting immediately. Ex-officio member and MLC Duvvarapu Rama Rao said the government, while raising property taxes, has not taken into consideration the financial loss caused to people due to Covid-19.
TD corporators said they have not been able to visit their divisions as people have started blaming them for the hike. CPI corporator A. J. Stalin said such a hike has not been imposed in any metro city of the country. Hence, the government should keep the tax hike in abeyance while examining tax structures in other developing cities.
CPM floor leader Dr. B Ganga Rao condemned the unilateral decision of the council to approve the tax. He said the council is going against 20 lakh people who are strongly opposing the hike.
However, ruling party corporators justified the hike stating funds are needed for implementing projects that would create employment within the state.
While heated debates had been going on in the council hall, TD and Left parties staged a protest in front of the GVMC main gate before police present in huge numbers bundled them into waiting vans to prevent any trouble.
GVMC had released the draft plan of tax hike on June 3, seeking objections and suggestions within a month’s time. 9,272 objections had been filed by people.
