HC stays charging of addl holding tax
The High Court yesterday stayed the effectiveness of the notices issued by the Dhaka South City Corporation imposing additional holding tax in DSCC area.
The court also issued a rule questioning the legality of charging extra holding tax from landlords in the area.
In the rule, the HC asked the authorities concerned of the government and the DSCC to explain why charging holding tax more than the amount fixed under the relevant law should not be declared illegal.
Five officials including LGRD secretary, DSCC mayor and its chief executive officer have been made respondents to the rule.
The bench of Justice Tariq ul Hakim and Justice Md Faruque issued the rule after hearing a writ petition filed by 104 residents of Khilgaon area in Dhaka challenging the legality of the notices issued by the DSCC imposing extra holding tax on them.
Under the Municipal Corporation (Taxation) Rules, 1986, the government issued a gazette notification in 2015 imposing 7 percent tax on land and building, 7 percent for conservancy, 5 percent for street light, 3 percent for water and 8 percent for health sector, petitioners' lawyer Barrister Mucktadir Rahman told The Daily Star.
But the DSCC authorities have been charging tax 320 to 974 times higher than the amount fixed under the relevant law, which is illegal, the lawyer said.
The DSCC issued notices on the landlords at different times imposing the extra tax, he added.
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