BMC mooting to tax garbage as real estate earning plummets

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), considered as one of the richest municipalities in the country by revenue, is planning to start taxing garbage collection.

According to a Free Press Journal report that quoted Bloomberg, the BMC generates a significant portion of its revenue from taxing sales in the real estate sector. However, the ongoing economic slowdown, coupled with a slump in the real estate sector, meant that the body is exploring every way possible to increase revenue earnings, which includes a tax on the issuance of birth certificates.

The report noted that while the BMC has announced plans to develop infrastructure and increase spending on big-ticket projects. But it has not been able to collect adequate tax through the sale of apartments and office spaces this fiscal, making it unclear how the civic body plans to fund its projects.

Moreover, BMC is expecting income made from its Rs 786.7 crore in investments to also plummet by 11 percent due to a reduction in bank interest rates.

Speaking on the situation at hand, the report quoted Care Ratings economists who said, “As the revenue earned by the BMC from its major sources of income are on the decline, it is planning to figure out new ways to mobilise resources. They might start issuing notices to defaulters who haven’t cleared their dues for property tax and water tax.”