Tax evasion turn defaulters' Water-loo

MADURAI: The Madurai corporation has disconnected underground drainage (UGD) and drinking water connections of 668 property tax defaulters in the past one week. The numbers will go up as the exercise would continue till March 31. With the 2019-2020 financial year coming to a close in three weeks, the civic body has collected Rs 29 crores tax in the past one month.

The corporation collects various taxes, including property tax, water tax, drainage maintenance (DMC) tax, UGD tax and vacant land tax. Property tax has been assessed for a total of 3,20,823 entities. There are nearly 100 tax collectors in place. Ever since the civic body intensified the tax collection three months ago, each tax collector was tasked with doing at least 3,000 assessments. This became a mammoth task for the tax collectors. Based on the directions of Corporation Commissioner S Visakan, retired corporation employees and around 500 employees from Public Health Department were roped in. Forty computerised tax collection centres were set up in the four zones that would function from 8 am to 8 pm on all days of a week.

The stages of tax collection involve issuance of demand notice followed by a reminder notice. The officials were told to disconnect the drinking water and UGD connections for those who failed to pay tax even after the notices.

A corporation official said, "In 2018, based on the tax revision, the residential tax was increased by 50 per cent and the commercial tax was increased by 100 per cent. There was a large-scale demand to revoke the hike and we stopped collecting tax for a few months following a Government Order. Though the hike had been revoked, many residents do not come forward to pay the tax. This hinders the civic body from undertaking developmental works and ensuring basic amenities."

Owing to litigations, most of the private educational institutions, hospitals and industries in the corporation did not pay the tax. However, with the court cases at the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court came to an end last week, the said institutions have been told to pay the tax. Action to disconnect the drinking water and UGD connections of defaulters are under way. "Of all the aforementioned taxes, it is highly challenging for the officials to collect vacant land tax as the owners usually reside elsewhere," added the official.