Mumbai: BMC to Impose Tax on Residents For Garbage Collection & Other Services After 5 Percent Dip in Revenue, Says Report
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation or BMC, India's richest civic body which governs Mumbai, will impose new taxes on residents for various services such as garbage collecting.
Mumbai, February 7: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation or BMC, India's richest civic body which governs Mumbai, will impose new taxes on residents for various services such as garbage collecting, according to a report by Bloomberg. The BMC plans to introduce a tax on garbage collection and impose additional levies on services such as issuing birth certificates after its revenue saw a dip of 5 percent. BMC Budget 2020-21 Highlights: Mumbai Civic Body Unveils Rs 33,441 Crore Budget, Maximum Allotted For Improving Infrastructure.
BMC's revenue has dropped 5 percent from its previous target to 238.5 billion rupees ($3.4 billion) in the year through March 31. While the civic body plans to increase its spending by 9 percent, it expects income on its 786.7 billion rupees of investments to drop 11 percent due to lower bank interest rates in the next financial year, the Bloomberg report said. The report further stated that the BMC is exploring new ways to boost revenue. Swachh Survekshan 2020: BMC Uses Super Mario to Urge Citizens to Vote For Mumbai in Cleanliness Survey.
Faced with a fall in revenues, "the corporation plans to adopt innovative measures for resource mobilization," Care Ratings economists, including Madan Sabnavis, wrote in a report. These include "measures to recover outstanding dues of property tax and water tax by way of issuance of notices to defaulters, disconnection of water connections, attachments and auction of properties," they wrote.
Until 2017, a third of Mumbai's income would come through octroi, or an entry levy, which was replaced with a nationwide Goods and Services Tax or GST. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to compensate for a portion of the reduction, the central government hasn't been able to transfer the funds beyond September due to slowing economy.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 07, 2020 12:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).