MYSURU: With the end of the financial year approaching, the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) has intensified its efforts to collect property taxes, which is its biggest source of revenue for the civic body.
At the end of Jan, the MCC has achieved 80% of its target, collecting Rs 170.8 crore in property taxes. It includes arrears of 2023-24. The target it has set is Rs 214.1 crore. While last fiscal saw an 83% collection rate, this year, the MCC aims at 100% collection.
As MCC commissioner has set the target to achieve 100% tax collection by the end of this fiscal year after conducting the meeting with revenue officers in nine zonal limits, the MCC revenue department officials have intensified the tax collection by visiting door-to-door specifically focusing on highest property taxes defaulters like shopping malls, educational institutions, traders and other defaulters in their limits.
As part of their drive, MCC revenue department officers were also issuing notices to major defaulters, who had not cleared arrears. Officials disconnected water supply of defaulters who are not paying taxes even after several reminders.
MCC collected the property tax from 1,98,751 properties during the fiscal year.
With an increase in properties owing to transfer of some layouts by Muda to the MCC, the civic body has now collected property tax from 2,27,893 properties.
According to sources, the highest number of property tax was collected from MCC zone 7 and 8.
As most of the property holders utilized the five percent rebate in tax offered by MCC during April, MCC has collected Rs 75.8 crore of property tax alone by April end, followed by Rs 24.3 crore in May, Rs 15.2 crore in June, Rs 11.4 crore in July, Rs 7.5 crore in Aug, Rs 7.5 crore in Sept, Rs 7.8 crore in Oct, Rs 5.6 crore in Nov and Rs 6.7 crore in Dec and Rs 8.8 crore in Jan.
MCC deputy commissioner (revenue) Dasegowda said that MCC is witnessing record of property tax collection due to the measures like introduction of online payment of property tax, opening of tax collection counters in all zonal offices to help the taxpayers paying offline, training to officers in calculation of taxes, other simplification related to tax payment are all yielding fruits.
MCC commissioner Ashad-Ur-Rehaman Sharief told TOI that he already set the target to all revenue officers to achieve 100% tax collection as such measures are must for MCC to initiate development work, to pay salaries for the staff and for civic administration.
Apart from this, he said he has been conducting meetings for fifteen days once with all zonal heads and revenue officers regarding the progress of property and other tax collection issues to mop its resources.
