Guntur: Roundtable condemns property tax hike, imposition of garbage tax

Guntur: The Left and Congress leaders strongly opposed the proposed hike in property tax, water charges and collection of garbage charges by the Guntur Municipal Corporation at a roundtable organised here on Wednesday. The CPI, CPM, Congress and MCPI leaders demanded that the government should withdraw the proposals of imposing additional financial burden on the house owners and tenants.

Addressing aroundtable, the CPI district secretary Jangala Ajay Kumar said that poor and middleclass families are facing financial problems due to Covid-19 and questioned the need for imposing additional financial burden on them. He felt that there is no need to collect garbage tax from the people. He said that it is the responsibility of the local bodies to maintain sanitation.

CPM city secretary K Nalini Kanth said that since the YSRCP government came to power, it is continuously imposing additional financial burden on people. The GMC is not rendering better services to the people, he felt.

Congress leader Adavi Anjaneyulu said that the proposal of the state government to hike taxes and collection of garbage tax is not correct. He felt that if the taxes are hiked, the house owners will pass the burden onto the tenants and as a result the middleclass people will be overburdened.

AITUC working president VRadha Krishna Murthy, CPI city committee member Shaik Ameer Vali, AISF district secretary ChallaMariadas,CPI leader Dupati Ratnam,MCPI leader Sridhar were present.