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Down Io Earth

The pinch of municipal taxes

By Khalilur Rahman
A landlord or a tenant whoever you be. you are certain'to feel the pinch of municipal taxes if you live anywhere within the 90 square mile metropolitan city.
The Dhaka Municipal Corporation, upgraded to City Corporation last year imposes taxes directly on three counts — holding, conservancy and street lights, on the owners of houses within its limits
The owners who have let out their holdings. 1n turn, share the tax load with the tenants. Thus both are affected.
The total number of hold Ings within the corporation area Is now one lakh thirty five thousand six hundred. The Corporation realised taxes of Taka 50 crore from these holdings last year.
Let us now look into the rationale of the Imposition of municipal taxes and services rendered by the Corporation to its 60-lakh population.
We recently interviewed 60 taxpayers and over 100 tenants to assess the Impact of taxes and amenities provided to them by the City Corporation.
All of them expressed their total dissatisfaction at the services they are getting from the Corporation tn their respective localities, both in the old and the new metropolitan areas. Piling of garbage, overflowing of silted drains and no street lights tn many places are some of the common problems often faced by the etty dwellers.
There are some areas where garbage rots on the open through fares for days and household waste water remains stagnant in the absence of drains.
Of the persons interviewed, we cite the experience of one house owner who has pursued hfs case to the last in respect of taxes imposed by the Corporation. Fits ordeal is not yet over.
TWcnty years ago this 60-year old man belonging to the middle income group built a two-storey house with a covered area of 1000 square feet with a loan from the House Building Finance Corporation (HBFC).
The existing rent he receives from a tenant on the first floor is Taka 3.500 per month. He later on constructed two small rooms on the second floor without kitchen to accommodate his family members in 1985.
In 1974 he used to pay municipal taxes at the rate of Taka 23 per quarter. In 1980 the lax was Increased to Taka 199. A fresh rise took place at the rate of Taka 700 per quarter in 1985. He was then suddenly served a notice last year by the Corporation asking him to pay holding taxes at the rate of Taka 2100 per quarter. He became puzzled as no alteration or addition to the building was made nor was there any rental hike.
The owner told the Star that the Corporation, however, offers everybody a chance to appeal. 'But in reviewing a case the Corporation does not follow any set principles as far as 1 could learn in the course of filing an appeal*, the landlord added.
On previous occasions appeals filed in plain paper by the residents were entertained. But from last year the Corporation began to sell printed forms at Taka 10 each for filing an appeal.
The owner bought one and at a later date set for reviewing appeals of his locality, he stood in a long queue at the Corporation office. After over an hour's watting in line his turn came.
He faced some grim-faced, tight-lipped men sitting around a table and one of them handed him over a plain sheet of paper and asked for his sig nature. His turn ended and the next man entered.
Several months later the landlord received a revised quarterly bill for Taka 1800 from the Corporation detailing the charges on account of conservancy. holding and street light
He started making payments at the revised rate and decided to make final a appeal to the Divisional Commissioner who is acting as the head of the Corporation after the fall of the Ershad regime.
But tt is another difficult Job to file an appeal to this highest authority.
First of all. the owner paid 75 per cent of the total amount of four quarters in advance on the basis of revised rate (Taka 1800 per quarter) as required in case of such an appeal. One day he stayed at the Corporation counter for four hours to deposit the money prior to submission the appeal. But returned in vain because the man behind the counter was not available.
He went to the Corporation office next day and managed to deposit the amount In exchange of ‘tips'. Thus the appeal was made to the Divisional Commissioner’s office and after three months his case was heard.
The Judgement will no! be available before the middle of June next, he was told by an office staff. Formalities fulfilled by this landlord for submission of his prayer for revision of taxes arc applicable in all such cases.
Unless one comes to an ’understanding' with the concerned functionaries of the Corporation the chance of genuine reduction of the abnormal tax hike is almost nil', the disgusted landlord told me quoting his own experience.
Now some words about services. The road in front of his house ts littered with garbage and there is no dustbin.
In the absence of proper drainage waste water flowing out ol the adjoining houses remains stagnant most of ilic lime.
For tlic last decade a group of neighbours led by him pur-suaded the municipality to* construct a pucca surface drain to Dush out household and rain water. But the drain is yet to be fully constructed.
In the last eight years the municipal authority invited tender four times for constructing the drain as demanded by the local people. Then there was silence. Recently the Job was undertaken and left half done. A drain was constructed, indeed but with no outlet (photo).
The result is discouraging. People of the locality raise weekly subscriptions and hire sweepers on their own for draining out stagnant stinking water from the road. Knee-deep water accumulates on the road even after a moderate
At many places in the entire locality street lights do not glow and miscreants find it convenient to rob the unwary passersby.
Most of the time the victims do not report cases to the police.
City corporation version on taxes
A senior official of the revenue department of the Corporation told The Dally Star that regular assessment is carried out before imposing taxes on the basis of annual valuation of each holding. It is a continuous process.
Normally, assessment is done every five years. But in caselof addition, alteration of a holding and rental income from it call for fresh assessment in order to increase the tax rate. When his attention was drawn to the case we have narrated here where there was no addition, alteration or rcnial hike, the official replied that the holding needs 'assessment'.