Morung Express News
August 25
DIMAPUR: The proposed introduction of property tax by the Dimapur Municipal Committee was deliberated upon at length today. The consultations were taken up at the office of the Naga Council, Dimapur. The discussion was brought forward after the Chairman of the Gaon Buras’ Association, Viyito Chishi brought up an agenda relating to the matter. The meeting was called for by the Naga Council in the backdrop of the upcoming Naga Integration rally to be held at Kohima on August 31. It was attended by members of the Naga Council and other leaders of frontal social organizations based in Dimapur. Various attendees to the meeting expressed their points of view on the pros and cons of the proposed tax and also put forward their suggestions. After a stretched out session on the said issue, the House, while agreeing to the implementation of the tax in principle, resolved to set up a Committee of experts to further delve into the nitty-gritty of the tax. It was also agreed upon that the Committee would include one or two proficient lawyers.
Earlier, the DMC, while bringing out the rates of taxes, had given a time frame of 30 days to the public for bringing forward their grievances, if any, against the tax. According to the rate of taxes as fixed by the DMC, property (land and building) worth Rs 1 lakh in a Commercial (Special) area such as Nyamo Lotha Road will be levied Rs 100 per annum while residential property of the same value at the same area will be levied an amount of Rs. 10 per annum. For property worth the same amount and located at Commercial ‘C’ area, as categorized by the DMC, a property owner will have to dole out Rs 10 per annum while residential property in the same category will be liable to pay Rs 1.25 per annum as tax. For taxation purposes, value of land will be calculated at the Revenue department’s rates while buildings will be taxed on the Public Works department rates. It may be mentioned that the rate of taxes of different categories, as fixed by the DMC, was made public in the August 11 issue of The Morung Express.
