Start Date
23-11-1988 12:30 PM
End Date
23-11-1988 2:30 PM
Description
Property tax forms a major source of revenue for most urban local bodies in India. However, the present system of assessment based on concept of Annual Rateable Value, a function of actual or hypothetical rent has not kept pace with rising property values. Against this background, the paper describes the process of property tax reforms in a metropolitan city. Process of property tax reforms in this city could be divided into three stages. First stage involved study of existing system and identification of its problems. This stage also provided a rationale for new concept of assessment. It suggested use of area as the tax base and recommended use of zonal rates per unit area as basis of valuation. Second stage covered operationalisation of the concept of zonalisation and formulation of relative rate structure for tax assessment. Data base for this phase was physical characteristics survey of all municipal divisions, 15% sample analysis of General Survey register records and survey of 6200 properties. In the third stage attempts were made to implement the new system. The paper has identified various reasons for limited success in implementing the reforms.
Publication Date
November 1988
Recommended Citation
Vaidya, Chetan and Basu, D. N., "Property tax reforms in India: A case study" (1988). International Research Symposium. 3.
https://researchexchange.iaao.org/irs/irs88/sessions/3
Property tax reforms in India: A case study
Property tax forms a major source of revenue for most urban local bodies in India. However, the present system of assessment based on concept of Annual Rateable Value, a function of actual or hypothetical rent has not kept pace with rising property values. Against this background, the paper describes the process of property tax reforms in a metropolitan city. Process of property tax reforms in this city could be divided into three stages. First stage involved study of existing system and identification of its problems. This stage also provided a rationale for new concept of assessment. It suggested use of area as the tax base and recommended use of zonal rates per unit area as basis of valuation. Second stage covered operationalisation of the concept of zonalisation and formulation of relative rate structure for tax assessment. Data base for this phase was physical characteristics survey of all municipal divisions, 15% sample analysis of General Survey register records and survey of 6200 properties. In the third stage attempts were made to implement the new system. The paper has identified various reasons for limited success in implementing the reforms.