more-inThe Fifth State Finance Commission (SFC), headed by S. Krishnan, IAS, has some telling points about property tax collection in urban local bodies (ULB), including Chennai. In its report, which has been submitted to the government, the commission noted that the last revision of property tax in Chennai Corporation took effect on April 1, 1998. In fact, the fourth SFC had observed: “The Chennai Corporation, which has to meet a huge gap in infrastructure provision, should feel financially bold to plan for future demand and improve its maintenance functions. The ULB authorities have to conduct the revision with the assistance of Special Revision Officers who inspect each and every house/building/vacant land, thereby preventing assessments being missed and under-assessments. The government must ensure that adequate support staff are made available for the next general revision and a scientific basis of assessment with the application of GIS technology is adopted, it recommended.

Source: The Hindu August 20, 2017 19:30 UTC