GIS Based Property tax reforms
Public finance experts usually advocate a diversified and balanced revenue system. That is, the system should include several taxes and other sources of revenue. A diversified revenue system makes it easier to find a balance among competing policy objectives. Property Tax is one of the most important sources of revenue for urban local bodies (ULBs), As a revenue source, it can provide local government with access to a broad and expanding tax base. At present, however, yields from Property Tax are low. A large proportion of properties are not covered in the tax net, properties are inaccurately valued, and collection efficiency is extremely poor. Therefore, Property Tax reforms are necessary to improve the finances of urban local bodies.
GIS in Urban Planning
Geographic Information Systems combine geodata with other types of information and generate maps for better recognition of local problems and more effective solutions. GIS directly supports variety of local activities (land-use and urban planning, economic development, infrastructure, transportation and emergency management, educational planning, tax assessment, environmental monitoring, public information services).
Municipal corporations and authorities have an important role to play in the development of cities and towns in India. These authorities have to provide proper roads for city transportation, sufficient water supply to satiate the needs of the residential, educational, recreational, industrial areas. They need to build drainage networks and reconstruct them so that they can withstand the monsoons.
GIS based Property Tax Assessment
Municipal corporations have a role to play in property tax assessment. The importance of bringing GIS into the municipal infrastructure is paramount, especially the need to store, retrieve and update large amounts of data. Today, with the use of large storage servers and reliable database management systems, GIS empowers the authorities to do all that and much more. There is a transparency and efficiency in the way all the data is managed and administered with the GIS infrastructure. However, such a system that manages data could be made even better if we were able to visualize the data and analyze trends in a spatial context. GIS provides a whole new dimension to Property Tax Assessment, as GIS brings the spatial element to it. GIS enhances the functionality and information that gives us, in its own unique way, and most importantly helps in decision-making. GIS is one such endeavor in making tax assessment simpler and prioritizes areas on the basis of tax revenues collected or due. GIS helps in the decision-making process and streamlining the workflow of property tax assessment.
We can use the technology to meet the challenges of storing huge amount of data of property tax assessment, and updating GIS on a continuous basis in an effective manner. For example, a revenue inspector who has to collect property tax from a number of households, would like to know the defaulters in his assigned area, and an GIS system would give him a document or spreadsheet listing the names and addresses of the same. However, if the inspector could be shown visualization on the map about where those properties are corresponding to the defaulters, GIS would give him much more information than a spreadsheet. Similarly, an administrative officer for a ward or zone could login to the GIS system and visualize the properties under his jurisdiction, and see the properties corresponding to defaulters in different colors, depending on the amount to be paid by the defaulters. The Property Tax Assessment System (PTAS) GIS is one such system which attempts to benefit the municipal authorities for all queries related to property tax.
Advantages of GIS based Property Tax Assessment
Since tax regime changes from Annual Rental Value basis to Plinth Area basis is imminent, and the spatial position of a building is a crucial part in the new system of assessment, a GIS based representation of buildings could advance the transparency of the tax assessment process to new heights. If it completed once is very easy handle a ordinary man with minimum knowledge in computer. Adding new buildings tax calculation, report generations etc. are can be made with out time delay. Property tax map have been several advantages. Main utilities of it are given below:
Quick Search
It is very easy to search from Zone, Ward, Parcel in a top-down fashion. The user will be able to exercise number of selection options, like creating a new selection, adding to existing selection, remove from existing selection and select from current selection. The user can also search by ‘Owner Name’ attribute of the parcel. The user can then zoom to a particular result if desired.
Data Entry
Adding new details are very easy. On successful validation, a data entry form can be created for adding new. In this form, administrator can enter all the attributes for the currently selected parcel.
Total Unpaid Tax Visualization
When user clicks on ‘View Defaulters’ button, GIS will show the parcel layer in different shades of color scheme, depending on the total balance amount to be paid by the owner of each parcel.Percentage Unpaid Tax Visualization
When user clicks on ‘Percentage Balance’ button, GIS show the parcel layer in different shades of color scheme, depending on the contribution of each parcel in terms of percentage to the total unpaid amount in the whole parcel layer
Query Tool
When user clicks on ‘Query Tool’ button, GIS will open a query form. In this form user can build his/her query by selecting a balance amount for property tax and use some logical operators. The query is fired on the parcel layer and accordingly, the parcels satisfying the condition are selected in the parcel layer. The query can be saved.
Report Generation
Notice
When user clicks on “Notice†button GIS will open a document in Microsoft Word with a pre-defined template for a currently selected parcel for which there is balance property tax to be paid. This document is a notice to be sent to the defaulter, which will include details such as Zone, Ward, Parcel number, name of defaulter, name of revenue inspector and balance tax to be paid.
Integration with Other Developmental Activities
Apart from the tax assessment the GIS maps can be used for other spatial and social development such as Road network development, Land Use development, Drainage, Storm Water Drainage, Industrialization, etc.
Conclusion