Bhubaneswar: Following Orissa High Court’s order on hike in holding tax by BMC, the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Monday demanded reimbursement of increased taxes paid by Bhubaneswar citizens.
Senior Congress leader and former minister Panchanan Kanungo said the Orissa High Court had ruled that any attempt by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to enhance holding tax is not sustainable under law.
The court said transitional provision, Section 694 (3) of the Orissa Municipal Corporation (OMC) Act, 2003 cannot be invoked by BMC to justify either the raising of the rate of holding tax or to continue to levy and collect it, he said.
Therefore, the BMC should immediately return the enhanced property tax collected from various citizens, he demanded. The Congress leader claimed that the BMC has collected over Rs 22 crore from the people after revising the taxes.
Dubbing the hiked user fees being collected by BMC ‘illegal’, the leader urged the BMC authorities to stop charging higher rates from the denizens of the Capital city.
PNN
