The residents of Punjab may soon have to calculate the house tax themselves. The state Government is contemplating to start a self-assessment scheme for commercial,institutional and rented residential property and is expected to be richer by around Rs 700 crore. According to sources,the local bodies department discussed the issue with Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. The final decision on implementation of the scheme will be taken by a two-member committee comprising Deputy Chief Minister and Local Bodies Minister Manoranjan Kalia. At present,only around Rs 100 crore is collected per year in the form of house tax. Under the scheme,the owner of a property will calculate the tax payable using a simple formula and deposit the amount to the municipality concerned. This will do away with the system of inspectors involved in collection of house tax and as the tax payable would be less than the amount paid at present,there will be less instances of evasion. A senior officer said,Under the new system,the amount of tax collection is expected to increase. The inspector raj would also come to an end and the people will not have to face any harassment. The government,however,keep a check on all the properties. Private firms will be hired to calculate tax on all properties and the amount collected will be cross-checked with the expected tax to be collected. Random checks would also be conducted and in case of under valuation,fine will be imposed,besides legal action,on the owner. Those evading tax would also come under the scanner. According to a survey conducted by the Panjab University in 2005,only 40 per cent of the property owners in Ludhiana and Amritsar paid house tax. This amount was also undervalued by showing less area covered,said sources. Under the proposed system,based on the system implemented in Rajasthan and Delhi,the cities will be divided into four zones posh area,good area,medium area and poor area. As per a survey conducted recently,around 54 per cent population live in medium area and 31 in poor area. Only 15 per cent live in posh and good areas. The buildings will be divided into different slabs of 1-10 years old,10-20 years,20-30 years,30-40 year and 40-50 years old. The tax will be the least on old constructions and highest on the new ones. The tax would be five times than the present rate in case of a multiplex,six times in case of a hotel,cinema or a petrol pump,and seven times in case of a bank,hospital and government offices.
