Chennai Corporation hikes trade licence fee, professional tax

CHENNAI: The relentless rise in taxes and levies continued for the residents of Chennai, with the city Corporation mooting a slew of upward revisions, including fee for trade licence and professional tax.

Also, taking a serious note of the uncontrollable cattle menace that left several people injured, the civic body has also increased the fines imposed on their owners who let the animals roam on city roads.

These were some of the decisions that were cleared during the council meet of the Greater Chennai Corporation that was held here on Tuesday.

The trade licence has been increased by almost doubled - up to Rs 30,000 – for businesses ranging from cinema studios and ice cream parlours to shops that sell dry fish. A resolution moved in the council meet said that the existing fee for bakeries, medical shops, and hair salons has been increased by up to Rs 10,000, while for textile shops, it has gone up to Rs 15,000.

In the case of professional tax, the civic body fixed the hike at the upper band of 35 per cent. Incidentally, while the hike is applicable to those earning between Rs 21,000 and Rs 60,000 per month, those with higher salaries do not have any increase in the tax that is collected once in six months.

The owners who let their cattle roam will face a fine of Rs 10,000 per cattle (from Rs 5,000 earlier), while it will be Rs 15,000 if the animal is caught for a second time.