BBMP property tax amendment bill passed in Council

Bengaluru: The Legislative Council passed the BBMP Property Tax Amendment Bill 2024 on Thursday. The Bill, which halved the penalties on property tax, was passed in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.

Speaking after tabling the tax-payer-friendly Amendment Bill, Shivakumar said, “This Bill has already been passed in the Legislative Assembly. This Bill rectifies a mistake of the previous government which resulted in heavy penalties on common people.”

“Earlier, property taxpayers with disputes had to approach either the High Court or the Tribunal. This Bill has introduced the Appeal Committee to make it easier for the people to resolve issues without approaching a court,” he said.

“The 15th Finance Commission has said grants will be released only if the property tax is in line with the guidance value and hence the government introduced this amendment bill. The property tax in other districts of the State were determined by the guidance value but that was not the case in Bengaluru. We have brought a new amendment without increasing the property tax,” he explained.

Lauding the New Bill, Ruling Party MLC Nagaraj Yadav said, “This taxpayer friendly Bill will increase revenues for the BBMP. This is a pro-development Bill.” JDS MLC T A Saravana suggested giving some concession to people who had wrongly declared their tax liability.

Asked about the guidance value of agricultural and converted land in the City limits by certain MLAs, Shivakumar said,

“There is no tax on the agricultural land in the 110 villages coming under the BBMP. Converted lands have a tax of 0.025 per cent. The guidance value is determined by the Revenue

department and there is only provision to increase it only by 5 per cent.”

During the marathon debate, many of the Opposition members welcome the amendment bill and suggested some changes. The Bill was later put to vote.