The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) council passed a resolution to hike property tax in the city by 6%, on Friday, September 27. While a majority of those in favour of the resolution were DMK councillors; CPI, CPI(M), VCK and the AIADMK councillors condemned the hike by stating that it will impact the poor and the working class and staged a walk-out.
The hike is expected to begin from the October-March cycle, however, the date of implementation will be notified by the state government.
The tax is levied in two half-yearly payment cycles- April to September cycle and the October to March cycle. It may be noted that the property tax is determined based on the location and the type of property such as commercial buildings, residential buildings, and so on. The 6% hike will now apply to all types of properties as per the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Body rule 264(2). The rule mandates for the value of land and buildings among others to be increased annually by either 6% or by the average rate of Gross State Domestic Product’s growth in the preceding five years, whichever is higher.
This hike comes three years after the 2022 property hike for the city’s residents.
Barring the hike, the corporation had in 2023, introduced a new penalty and incentive structure. Those who default the half-yearly tax payment will be levied 1% penal interest for every month until the dues are paid. Further, the corporation also introduced a 5% incentive for those who pay within the first 30 days from the commencement of the half-yearly payment cycles, that is between April 1 to April 30 for the first cycle, and between October 1 to October 30 for the second cycle.