CMC’S ASSESSMENT TAX COLLECTION TOPS RS.3 BILLION

THE COMMISSIONER SAID THAT THE CMC HAD INFLUENCED THE PEOPLE TO USE ONLINE RATE PAYING SERVICE LEGAL ACTIONS WERE ALSO TAKEN AGAINST THE RESIDENTS WHO HAD FAILED TO PAY TAXES

The Colombo Municipality earned nearly three billion rupees during the annual assessment of rates, increasing its income by Rs.300 million compared to the previous year, Municipal Commissioner V. K. A. Anura said yesterday.

The Municipality took measures to charge additional rates for illegal construction within city limits. Officers also had a special training programme this year, before they began to collect rates, the Commissioner said.

He said that the CMC had started the e-service in collaboration with Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) to facilitate the online payment system for the rate payers on January 2014.

People had used this service properly and the biggest advantage of the e- service is saving the time of the people and through this system they could obtain a receipt for their payment via emails as well, he said.

However, he said that the CMC had influenced the people to use online rate paying service and the CMC had given a discount to people those who paid their rates before the time. Legal actions were also taken against the residents who had failed to pay taxes and the CMC had not specified a time period for arrears to be paid nor a deadline for payments to be made but legal action was imperative and had taken action this year, he said.