Property Taxation in India : Issues Impacting Revenue Performance and Suggestions for Reform

Rapid urbanization in India means cities face a tremendous challenge to finance and deliver theincreasing demand for basic municipal services. When compared to peers in the Organisation forEconomic Co-operation and Development (OECD), India perform...

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Main Authors: Awasthi, Rajul, Nagarajan, Mohan
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/852151587668989296/Property-Taxation-in-India-Issues-Impacting-Revenue-Performance-and-Suggestions-for-Reform
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33655
id okr-10986-33655
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spelling okr-10986-336552021-05-25T09:36:22Z Property Taxation in India : Issues Impacting Revenue Performance and Suggestions for Reform Awasthi, Rajul Nagarajan, Mohan PROPERTY TAX REVENUE MOBILIZATION TAX REFORM URBANIZATION PUBLIC FINANCE LAND VALUATION LAND REGISTRATION TAX ADMINISTRATION TAXATION TAX POLICY GOVERNANCE Rapid urbanization in India means cities face a tremendous challenge to finance and deliver theincreasing demand for basic municipal services. When compared to peers in the Organisation forEconomic Co-operation and Development (OECD), India performs poorly in generating revenues fromthe urban immovable property tax. The data show that while the average collection from propertytaxes in the OECD group is about 1.1 percent of national gross domestic product, the number forIndia is about 0.2 percent, which is just one-sixth. Most Indian states, including the relatively better performers, collect small amounts compared to OECD countries. Several factors lead to low property tax revenue in India: undervaluation, incomplete registers, policy inadequacy, and ineffective administration. A big challenge for property tax administration is the lack of accurate property tax rolls under the jurisdiction of the urban local bodies (ULBs). Property tax laws are generally seen to provide many exemptions. Undervaluation is rampant. ULBs — especially smaller municipalities and Nagar Palikas — are constrained with the capacities they possess to effectively administer a property tax. Reform would need to undertake a range of activities: updating property tax laws, getting rid of ineffective exemptions, completing property registers, adopting more effective valuation approaches, and strengthening administration. There is merit in preparing a model municipal act to help build a more robust property tax system. A fresh approach to property tax administration is needed to help bridge the resource gap in the revenue raising capacity of ULBs. For small ULBs that lack capacity, property tax (and perhaps other municipal revenue sources as well) could be administered by a centralized body that handles property registers and databases of all ULBs under its remit through a unique information technology platform. The paper suggests a model to support and manage the technical- and policy-related aspects of the property tax: the establishment of a Municipal Revenue Board at the state level. The board is conceptualized to leverage the latest technology to implement the "back office" functions of a typical property tax administration. 2020-04-27T16:00:28Z 2020-04-27T16:00:28Z 2020-04 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/852151587668989296/Property-Taxation-in-India-Issues-Impacting-Revenue-Performance-and-Suggestions-for-Reform http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33655 English Governance Discussion Paper;No. 5 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Working Paper South Asia India
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic PROPERTY TAX
REVENUE MOBILIZATION
TAX REFORM
URBANIZATION
PUBLIC FINANCE
LAND VALUATION
LAND REGISTRATION
TAX ADMINISTRATION
TAXATION
TAX POLICY
GOVERNANCE
spellingShingle PROPERTY TAX
REVENUE MOBILIZATION
TAX REFORM
URBANIZATION
PUBLIC FINANCE
LAND VALUATION
LAND REGISTRATION
TAX ADMINISTRATION
TAXATION
TAX POLICY
GOVERNANCE
Awasthi, Rajul
Nagarajan, Mohan
Property Taxation in India : Issues Impacting Revenue Performance and Suggestions for Reform
geographic_facet South Asia
India
relation Governance Discussion Paper;No. 5
description Rapid urbanization in India means cities face a tremendous challenge to finance and deliver theincreasing demand for basic municipal services. When compared to peers in the Organisation forEconomic Co-operation and Development (OECD), India performs poorly in generating revenues fromthe urban immovable property tax. The data show that while the average collection from propertytaxes in the OECD group is about 1.1 percent of national gross domestic product, the number forIndia is about 0.2 percent, which is just one-sixth. Most Indian states, including the relatively better performers, collect small amounts compared to OECD countries. Several factors lead to low property tax revenue in India: undervaluation, incomplete registers, policy inadequacy, and ineffective administration. A big challenge for property tax administration is the lack of accurate property tax rolls under the jurisdiction of the urban local bodies (ULBs). Property tax laws are generally seen to provide many exemptions. Undervaluation is rampant. ULBs — especially smaller municipalities and Nagar Palikas — are constrained with the capacities they possess to effectively administer a property tax. Reform would need to undertake a range of activities: updating property tax laws, getting rid of ineffective exemptions, completing property registers, adopting more effective valuation approaches, and strengthening administration. There is merit in preparing a model municipal act to help build a more robust property tax system. A fresh approach to property tax administration is needed to help bridge the resource gap in the revenue raising capacity of ULBs. For small ULBs that lack capacity, property tax (and perhaps other municipal revenue sources as well) could be administered by a centralized body that handles property registers and databases of all ULBs under its remit through a unique information technology platform. The paper suggests a model to support and manage the technical- and policy-related aspects of the property tax: the establishment of a Municipal Revenue Board at the state level. The board is conceptualized to leverage the latest technology to implement the "back office" functions of a typical property tax administration.
format Working Paper
author Awasthi, Rajul
Nagarajan, Mohan
author_facet Awasthi, Rajul
Nagarajan, Mohan
author_sort Awasthi, Rajul
title Property Taxation in India : Issues Impacting Revenue Performance and Suggestions for Reform
title_short Property Taxation in India : Issues Impacting Revenue Performance and Suggestions for Reform
title_full Property Taxation in India : Issues Impacting Revenue Performance and Suggestions for Reform
title_fullStr Property Taxation in India : Issues Impacting Revenue Performance and Suggestions for Reform
title_full_unstemmed Property Taxation in India : Issues Impacting Revenue Performance and Suggestions for Reform
title_sort property taxation in india : issues impacting revenue performance and suggestions for reform
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2020
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/852151587668989296/Property-Taxation-in-India-Issues-Impacting-Revenue-Performance-and-Suggestions-for-Reform
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33655
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