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| Cabinet to review 'Property tax' proposal | | Law Minister returns file, shows serious reservations | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Oct 30: After facing severe criticism over the imposition of much hyped property tax in Jammu and Kashmir, the state government has finally decided not to go ahead with any such proposal before reviewing the same in the Cabinet.
Sources in the government revealed that Mir Saifullah, the minister for law and parliamentary affairs has raised serious objections over setting up of a Board that can levy property taxes.
Sources said that Housing department had mooted out a proposal that a Board should be constituted till the Municipal Laws Amendment Bill is pending before the joint select committee of Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. However, the minister expressed his serious reservations over the matter rejecting the housing department's proposal. They added that Saifullah later took the issue with the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. He is believed to have informed the Chief Minister that the imposition of property tax on the state subjects would have serious political repercussions for National Conference and the same should not be approved.
Sources said that Omar was of the opinion that the property tax proposal needs to be reviewed by the Cabinet.
They added the cabinet approval for the 'imposition of property tax', the file was sent to the Law Minster for the final nod. "The file was pending in Law minister's chamber for more than two months and he did not even discuss the matter," said the source close to Mir Saifullah, Law Minster. The law minister when contacted confirmed that the file is pending with him and that he has still not discussed it with his colleagues. When asked for the reason, he said that the government is not willing to trouble the state inhabitants further. "People of the state are already over burdened, how could we agonise them further?" The political experts across state believe that the rejection of the proposal would be in the context of the coming assembly polls. They further stated that the government cannot lock horns with its people that too when the polls are very near.
Pertinently, Government in June this year came up with the proposal of imposing property tax to the winter and summer capitals of the state. It had earlier approved the constitution of property tax board, tasked to study property tax models in different states and come up with recommendations for the government. It was further decided by the government that in the coming time it would impose the tax on the commercial and residential properties of the state. |
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