Municipalities don't realise potential from property tax: Economic Survey

It adds, Bengaluru and Jaipur are collecting no more than 5 to 20% of the potential

India’s urban local bodies, or municipalities, have a huge potential to raise resources through taxation such as property tax, the Economic Survey said. It said low level of per capita expenditure of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) against state per capita expenditure show either states are not devolving adequate financial resources to these bodies or ULBs are not raising resources on their own.

The Survey’s assessment of property tax collection potential of Bengaluru and Jaipur shows that currently both these cities are collecting no more than 5 to 20 per cent of the potential. The study on municipal finances conducted by