Greater Chennai Corporation property tax collection Rs 500 crore so far
Chennai: Property tax collected by the Greater Chennai Corporation so far this financial year has crossed Rs 500 crore while collection of professional tax was nearing Rs 200 crore until December 23, up from same period last year. According to a Chennai Corporation official, the civic body had collected property tax of Rs 502 crore and professional tax of 190 crore till December 23. “Until December 23 last year, we had collected property tax of Rs 495 crore. The major reason for collecting a huge amount during last year was because of demonetisation. But this year, the collection is a result of our hard work”, the official added.
Among the 15 zones of Chennai Corporation, Teynampet, Royapuram and Adyar zones have registered highest property tax collections. These zones have collected Rs 97 crore, Rs 67 crore and Rs 66 crore respectively. “When considering property tax demand in zones, Adyar collected 67 per cent of its demand and Anna Nagar has collected 66 per cent. Meanwhile, Teynampet and Royapuram completed 55 and 53 per cent respectively”, the official, said. Chennai Corporation, during the first half of the 2017-18 financial year (April to September), had collected property tax and professional tax to the tune of Rs 366.04 crore and Rs 157.44 crore respectively.
“Last year we had collected almost Rs 700 crore as property tax but did not touch the mark. Corporation commissioner had directed us to collect more than Rs 700 crore this fiscal. In spite of continuous election work, we somehow managed to collect Rs 500 crore and collection will increase during March 2018”, the official explained. During the last financial year 2016-2017, the Greater Chennai Corporation had collected property tax to the tune of Rs 695.45 crore and professional tax worth Rs 297.33 crore. Total tax collection was Rs 992.78 crore last year, according to the Chennai Corporation record.
