Property tax, water charges may go up in Tamil Nadu

Chennai: In the absence of local body councils and the civic bodies running into debts, the civic authorities have proposed to revise the property tax and metro water charges. The new tax revision discussions have started and the implementation is likely by September, official sources in the municipal administration and the water supply department told Deccan Chronicle.

Though no concrete government orders had been passed to revise the existing tax, the local bodies will have their jurisdictional powers to enhance the taxes.

Several municipalities and town Panchayats had begun assessing their revenue model and are looking out for extra revenue. In the case of major corporations, the decisions are pending again in the absence of mayors, the special officers of these local bodies will take a call on revising the taxes. There are several local bodies that have not revised their taxes for the more than two decades and the drinking water charges collected in rural areas are also under examination, sources added.

In Chennai, the city corporation had also started serving notices to small business firms like gyms, ladies hostel and small eat outs to disclose the number of workers employed and pay professional tax for the same.  

Meanwhile, the top officials in the state secretariat are also burning the midnight oil to bail out the state exchequer that is now under 2.5 lakh crore debt and had also begun talks with various government employees in the local bodies and other government departments to discuss the regularisation of the seventh pay commission.

The high-level committee formed by the state to look into the aspects of the pay commission led by finance secretary K Shanmugham conducted its second round of discussions with the state holders.

The team comprising higher education secretary Udhayachandran and home secretary Niranjan Mardi also discussed the issues related to the state government staff.