June 30, 2021

KP local govt seeks Rs4.8bn as TMAs advised to waive property tax again

June 30, 2021

KP local govt seeks Rs4.8bn as TMAs advised to waive property tax again

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PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Local Government department has sought Rs4.80 billion from the provincial government after it advised Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMAs) to waive next year’s property tax.

According to sources, the provincial government has advised not to collect property tax next year and had sought the opinion of the local government in this regard.

Sources said that Rs4 billion has been provided to TMAs as compensation for the non-collection of property tax this year on the basis of data collected during the financial year 2019-20 (FY20) whereas the department has now demanded a 20 per cent increase in the amount for doing the same in 2022.

It is worth mentioning that the KP government has waived property tax till June 30 because of Covid-19 lockdowns due to which TMAs were facing financial difficulties due to reduction in revenue.

The local council board sources said that the provincial government had promised a grant of Rs4 billion for TMAs in return for waiving 2 per cent property tax. However, the money was transferred to the local government department after some delay which created financial difficulties for the TMAs.

Officials said that because of the delay in transferring of funds, TMAs were unable to pay employees’ salaries.

Aziz Buneri

Author is a senior journalist and working in the field of journalism since 2004. He covers Financial, Social, Political and regional issues for Pakistan today and Profit. He can reached at [email protected]

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