The property tax collection of Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) has declined by 32% during the first quarter (April-June) of the current financial year as compared to the same period in the previous year owing to the Covid-19 outbreak.
According to an NMC official, the property tax collection for the first quarter of the current financial year stands at Rs 31 crore, while it was Rs 46 crore during the corresponding period last financial year.
“The Covid-19 outbreak has led to the drop in property tax collection. The citizens are focusing more on saving the money instead of spending or paying the taxes,” the official said.
In order to increase the collection the NMC even started offering 5% concession to those paying the annual property tax in one go. The concession was introduced for the first three months of the financial year, but now has been extended till August.
“The civic body’s property tax collection in the first two months of the current financial year (April-May) was Rs 12 crore only, but we collected Rs 19 crore in the month of June alone due to the 5% concession scheme,” the official said.
At Rs 141 crore, the NMC had for the first time recorded an all-time high collection of property tax during the last financial year 2019-20. The previous year (2018-19) the collection stood at Rs 113 crore. For the current financial year, the property tax collection target has been set at Rs 150 crore.
There are over 4.5 lakh property tax payers across six divisions of the municipal corporation.
