House Tax Payers Facing Problem Due To Un-identified Tax Rate Method…

                            It’s the social responsibility of a citizen to pay tax but in case of house tax, people in Shimla city are facing a problem to pay house tax. Actually, the method to impose house tax in Shimla is not clearly defined by the Municipal Corporation. People, who are ready to pay tax, just don’t know that what formulae have been adopted to pay house tax.

In 2012, government presented a bill relating to house tax which says that house tax in Shimla should be collected under Unit Area Method. In this method, the whole city was supposed to be divided in sections and the tax rate would be different for each section depending upon the house location.

Municipal Corporation denied for applying this method and said that tax should be collected in the normal method which was being used before 2012. Now the case is in the court and decision is awaited.

                                But due to this conflict between MC Shimla and HP Government, people don’t know how much tax should be paid. Also MC is having a problem to collect tax from the households. Due to this conflict, since 2012 there is a minor house tax collection by the Corporation which leads it to the revenue deficit.

Also Municipal Corporation has short listed the taxpayers who are not paying their tax and also has fined the households. But people are opposing this saying that MC should sort out the issue with the Government first and then take action against the non tax payers.

Due to the issue is under trail, the honorable high court has said that till the judgment comes, the tax will be collected under the previous method that is Net Rate able Value. Also there is confusion that what tax should be collected from the commercial households and other households.

“Municipal Corporation earns revenue of approximate Rs.15 crore per year under property tax which includes the sum of Rs.8 crore under house tax. But since, 2012 due to this “method confusion” MC has not got its whole revenue and people are also penalized for non payment of tax”, said MC Deputy Mayor Tikender Panwar. Rather people are ready to pay tax but lack of a proper method to calculate tax, is making them hard to pay it off.

Ultimately, the general public is consuming the problematic result which is coming out from the conflict between the Corporation and the Government.