Mangaluru: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) has strongly criticised the decision of the Mangaluru City Corporation to continue increasing SAS property tax by 3 per cent annually, terming it a financial attack on urban residents and a burden on ordinary households already under economic stress.
“Mechanical increase violates assessment norms”
CPM city south and north wing secretaries Yogesh Jappinamogaru and Prameela Shaktinagar said the taxation system provides for a comprehensive assessment and revision once every three years. Ignoring this framework and mechanically increasing tax every year is merely an “easy way to collect revenue,” they alleged.
According to them, such a move lacks transparency and fails to consider ground realities. They said many families are still struggling with unstable incomes and rising living costs, and an automatic yearly hike in property tax amounts to economic oppression rather than responsible governance.
They argued that tax revisions must be based on structured reassessment, property condition, usage, and paying capacity, rather than across-the-board percentage increases.
“No ward representatives, yet higher taxes”
The party leaders also objected to the tax increase being enforced at a time when there are no democratically elected representatives at the ward level. Imposing higher taxes without consulting elected local representatives or seeking structured public feedback amounts to a violation of democratic values, they said.
They further alleged that several urban development projects taken up with assistance from the Asian Development Bank have instead turned into long-term debt burdens. According to them, residents are now being indirectly made to bear the financial strain created by these projects.
They pointed to delays in sewerage works, shortcomings in drinking water projects, and what they described as unplanned and excessive expenditure as indicators of administrative failure.
“Burden of mismanagement passed to taxpayers”
The CPM representatives said the burden created by mismanagement under previous BJP-led administrations and the present bureaucratic civic administration is being unfairly transferred to taxpayers.
They described this as an anti-people policy in which the cost of poor planning and execution is recovered from the public through higher taxes and charges. Instead of correcting administrative inefficiencies, authorities are choosing the easier route of raising revenue through repeated tax hikes, they alleged.
They also criticised the uniform tax approach, stating that imposing similar tax levels on old, dilapidated houses and modern multi-storey buildings is unscientific and socially unjust. Property taxation, they said, should account for building condition, usage pattern, and economic profile of owners.
Concerns over vacant land taxation
The party objected to what it called excessive taxation on vacant land, saying it directly affects middle-class and working-class families who may be holding small plots for future housing needs. Such measures discourage small property ownership and penalise those without immediate construction capacity, they said.
Leaders added that many households are yet to fully recover financially from the pandemic period, and repeated tax increases worsen their situation. While urban development is necessary, they stressed that it must be people-friendly and socially balanced.
Demand for rollback and fair tax model
The CPM urged the civic body to immediately withdraw the 3 per cent annual SAS property tax increase and adopt a more scientific and equitable taxation framework. They called for income-based and category-based standards to be introduced so that taxation reflects ability to pay.
They warned that if authorities fail to reconsider and rationalise the tax structure, intensified public protests would be organised in the coming days. A fair, transparent, and consultative approach to urban taxation is essential to maintain public trust, the party said in its statement.