Property tax collection in Tamil Nadu lowest in the country

CHENNAI, Tamil Nadu: The government of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, January 11, highlighted that the property tax structure in the state of Tamil Nadu is lowest compared to other states in the country. The government said that only a 25 per cent increase had been effected for over 80 per cent of the people paying property tax.

K N Nehru, Minister for Municipal Administration, Government of Tamil Nadu, informed the state assembly that 7 lakh taxpayers have been handed over a 75 per cent hike and only 1 lakh have been handed over a 100 per cent hike. To justify the revision, he said that it was one of the conditions put forward by the central government to clear the pending dues of the state. He also highlighted the problem of shortage of funds faced by urban local bodies (ULBs) in Tamil Nadu, due to which these civic bodies are struggling to pay salaries to their employees. 

The Minister was responding to the question raised by Natham R Viswanathan (Natham), Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). MLA reminded the minister that their government promised in their election manifesto that the property tax would not be raised.

Minister Nehru said that tax of ₹2,500 was being levied on a property of up to 2,400 square feet in Chennai, while in Maharashtra ₹12,000 is being charged for the same property.