Bill to hike property tax referred to Select Committee

Orissa Municipal (Amendment) Bill was introduced in Assembly on Monday. As per the bill, the property-owner (land or house) in urban and rural areas would have to pay 8 per cent to 20 per cent as property tax.

In addition to this, the Bill has provisions of water tax, fire tax, entertainment tax and vehicle parking tax to be levied on individuals.

The introduction of the proposed tax provisions witnessed noisy scenes in the Assembly. Members cutting across party lines opposed the proposed tax provisions following which the issue was referred to Select Committee for review.