Corporation tax kitty swells, crosses Rs 1,000 cr

In 2017-2018 financial year, the civic body had collected Rs 720.72 crore as property tax and Rs 339.78 crore as professional tax. “This year, till February 18, we have collected Rs 738 crore and Rs 252 crore as property tax and professional tax respectively. In total, we have collected Rs. 990 crore,” said a revenue official from the Chennai Corporation.

In comparison, the civic body had collected Rs 585 crore as property tax and Rs 227 crore as professional tax on February 18, 2018.

The civic body also has crossed total tax collection of Rs 1,000 crore. “In addition to Rs 990 crore collected as property and professional taxes, we have also collected Rs 34 crore as entertainment tax (up from Rs 15 crore last year) and Rs 1 crore as company tax,” the official added.

The official pointed out that the collection has been achieved despite election preparation works and regulation of street vending across the State. “Revenue staff are also involved in implementing Amma two-wheeler scheme,” the official pointed out.

According to the Corporation data, central region has collected Rs 375 crore as property tax till February 18, which is the highest among the three regions. North region collected Rs 149 crore and south region collected Rs 215 crore. Among the zones, Teynampet (Zone-9) reported property tax collection of Rs 154 crore.

“We have introduced entertainment tax only last year and the collection has been doubled this year. Meanwhile, we have done away with advertisement tax. The Corporation is also earning revenue from collecting parking charges and rent from commercial complexes,” the official said.