S. Narayan, member of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Economic Advisory Council, on Monday said the upwardly revision of property tax in the State was needed both to meet the guidelines of the 15 th Finance Commission and raise funds to resolve the civic and infrastructure issues.
Speaking to The Hindu, he pointed out that the property tax rates had not been hiked for a long time, and Tamil Nadu had one of the highest urbanisation rates at 58%. All the five members in the Advisory Council had recommended for property tax hikes, and the 15 th Finance Commission had imposed several conditions for release of grants to the local bodies, Mr. Narayan said.
According to him, as the next step, the government should come out with an announcement of how much they would be spending towards resolving the various civic and infrastructure issues, which would help build confidence among public and would make them understand the necessity of the hikes.
