On Jan 12, the Maha cabinet has given nod to the decision of state government for waiving the property tax on houses up to 500 sq. ft. in Mumbai. Chief Minister, Uddhav Thackeray on Jan 1 decided to completely waive off the property tax on houses of up to 500 sq. ft. located within the Mumbai municipal area limits. This waiver will benefit at least 16.14 lakh residential units and on the same line, it will result in a revenue loss of Rs.462 crore for the exchequer.
The state government will release an ordinance proposing an amendment to Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act 1888 for implementing the property tax waivers for residential units soon. As per the reports; the Mumbai Municipal Corporation will be bearing a loss of Rs.417 crore and the remaining Rs.45 crore will be borne by the state government.
The waiver of property tax is going to boost the sentiment of the end-users and will ultimately reduce ongoing expenses required for owning a house and adding to annual household savings. This demand has been pressured by BJP on Shiv Sena because the latter had promised a property tax waiver in 2017.
On the other hand, the cabinet has also decided to waive the taxes on school buses for the period between April 2020 and March 31, 2022. However, the Chief Minister Office in the statement has said that the eligible concession will only be available to vehicles owned or hired on contracts by schools and used only for transporting school children. If any of the institutions or person has already paid taxes, then it would be adjusted in future dues.
