Standing committee appeals to traders to pay local body tax

PUNE: The standing committee Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has appealed to the traders in city to pay Local Body Tax (LBT) regularly, till the tax is officially abolished.
"There are talks about the abolition of LBT and discussions have been held at the state government level. But no official decision has been taken in this regard. The LBT tax is still in force, so we have appealed to the traders to comply with the tax requirements," said Bapu Karne, chairman of the standing committee, while speaking with reporters.
Octroi was the biggest source of income for municipal corporations across the state. It was replaced by LBT in the last financial year. Traders opposed it tooth and nail, but the government implemented the new tax regime. Since then most municipal corporations have suffered revenue losses as expected.
After Lok Sabha elections, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) , which is part of the government, had asked the state to review the need for LBT. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raised the issue in the assembly recently asking the state government to clarify its stand on the vexed issue. An option to abolish the tax has since been under consideration.
PMC will fall short by Rs 1300 crore a year if the state government caves in to the opposition's demand to do away with LBT.
The workers union at PMC has planned an agitation if the Local Body Tax is abolished. The union in a statement issued said that if the LBT is removed then managing the PMC's finances would be a tough task.