The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) on Saturday approved the new tax regime in a special council meeting. However, the property tax based on the market value of residential buildings has been reduced from the earlier proposed 0.15% to 0.12%.
Earlier in the morning, police took several leaders into custody as opposition parties staged separate protests against the revised tax structure outside the civic body office, demanding the mayor to make a council resolution to postpone the property tax hike by two years in view of the financial woes being faced by people due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the council, where the ruling YSRC enjoys a clear majority, passed the agenda item on the new tax system. Interestingly, some TDP corporators also spoke in support of the tax hike. Announcing the council’s approval for the new tax structure, mayor G Hari Venkata Kumari said they would request the state government to reduce the quantum of tax hike on the lines of how it happened in Vijayawada and Guntur.
A property tax of 0.12% on the market value of residential buildings, 0.3% on non-residential/commercial buildings, and 0.5% on vacant lands will be collected under the new system.
