A Review of Property Tax in India

In India, over time, the share of own revenue (tax and non-tax) in the total revenue of urban local bodies (ULBs) has declined while that of governm ent transfers has increased, indicating growing fiscal dependency. It depicts the high dependency of local governments on the upper tiers of government to meet their expenditure needs, which has made them more vulnerable and less efficient, and has significantly eroded their autonomy. Internationally, amongst the own sources of revenue, property tax is a significant contributor to the ULBs’ fiscal landscape. However, India is at a low level with only 0.2 per cent of property tax contribution to GDP, which is much less than that of other countries. Therefore, this article aims to understand the administration of property tax through an assessment framework to arrive at the leakages and capitalise on low-hanging fruit in the municipal treasury and suggest suitable recommendations.