The manifesto, Sankalp Patra, was released by Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari on Sunday
No new taxes. That was the buzzword as the Delhi BJP launched its 41-point manifesto for the three municipal corporations in the Capital. The promise directly targets Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's recent claim that he would waive off house tax in the city, if voted to power.
The manifesto, Sankalp Patra, was released by Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari on Sunday.
Attacking Kejriwal's claim of waiving off house tax, BJP leaders said that the move was a "populist agenda" and that it would badly hit the cash-strapped corporations as house tax was a major source of revenue.
"We have not brought in any new tax for the last eight years. However, it is one of the crucial sources of income for the civic body. The AAP chief's claim of waiving off house tax is just a populist gimmick as they know they are losing their voter base in the city," Tiwari said.
Soon after the manifesto's launch, AAP released a statement that the ruling party had in the 2007 polls itself promised to abolish house tax.
"The BJP has been fooling people for so many years. It promised that it would do away with house tax in the 2007 elections," said Delhi AAP convenor Dilip Pandey.
Currently, while the South Corporation is self-sufficient, the North and East Corporations are struggling for funds. The situation is so dire that they have not been able to pay employees' salaries. The two major taxes bringing revenue for the corporations include are property tax and toll tax.
To increase funds, the Commissioners of the North and East Corporations had earlier proposed new taxes such as sanitation tax and professional tax, but the resolution was never formally approved.
"Property tax, which includes house tax, is one of the major sources of income. As it is, only 35 per cent people pay property tax. If this is waived off, it will break the backbone of the Corporation," said a senior North Corporation official.
The Corporation had last year introduced the UPIC (Unique Property Identity Card) system. It was introduced bring defaulters under the tax net.
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