40 per cent of J&K population to pay no tax; remaining to pay Rs 600 to Rs 1000 maximum annually, says LG Manoj Sinha

Amount fixed on J&K UT one tenth of Shimla, Ambala, Dehradun; Shopkeepers too to pay nominal tax annually; J&K people must come forward to build better UT

Srinagar, Feb 27 : Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said that 40 per cent of the J&K population will have to pay no property tax and the remaining 60 per cent have to pay nominal amount between Rs 600 to Rs 1000 maximum amount per annum. He said that tax amount fixed is one-tenth of the tax being paid by Shimla, Ambala and Dehradun.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function at SKICC here, the LG as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said in J&K, 2, 0, 3,680 households are less than 1500 Sq feet.

“Fourty per cent people won’t have to pay the tax. Eighty percent of the 2,0,3680 households will have to pay nominal amount of Rs 600 only while rest will have to pay a nominal amount of Rs 1000 as property tax per annum. This amount is one-tenth of the tax amount being paid by Shimla, Ambala and Dehradun,” the LG Sinha said.

About the commercial including shops, the LG said that 1,01000 shops are in J&K of which 42 per cent shops are less than 100 sq feet. “These shops will have to pay less than Rs 700 per anum. 76 per cent of the total shops of 1,1000 shops will have to pay very minimum amount as the property tax,” he said, adding that the amount collected will directly go into the accounts of Municipal Corporations and utilized for the development of the areas where tax will be collected.

“I urge the common people of J&K to come forward and help build a better J&K,” the LG said.

Pertinently, the J&K government announced imposition of property tax in the UT from April 1. The move evoked sharp criticism from the cross section of the society and the political parties, who demanded immediate rollback of the order—(KNO)