the goan I network
MARGAO
Addressing the media, former MMC chairperson Piedade Noronha said the MMC has decided to charge sanitation fee along with the house tax without giving an option for the citizens of Fatorda and Margao to choose whether to pay the fee or not.
“This shows the clear incompetence and lack of fundamental knowledge of the municipal councillors and to an extent the officers in the municipality regarding the distinction between taxes and fees levied by a government body,” Noronha said.
She pointed out that the distinction between a tax and a fee lies primarily in the fact that a tax is levied as part of a common benefit, while a fee is for payment of a specific benefit or privilege although the special advantage is secondary to the primary motive of regulation in public interest. “If the element of revenue for general purpose of the state predominates, the levy becomes a tax,” she added.
The citizens comprising of Ethel Lobo, Avinash Tavares, Nelson Fernandes, Camilo Barretto contended that while citizens of Fatorda and Margao, having house numbers have to pay for their garbage, those who have built their houses illegally and do not have a house number do not have to pay.
“This is in violation of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution wherein law abiding citizens are treated unequally and unfairly by the local government while the violators of the law are exempted from paying the sanitation fees,” they contended.
Questioning the rationale of computing the house tax amount, Avinash Tavares pointed out that the quantum of fees charged for garbage management is arbitrary.
“People close to the dump site are charged the same amount as people living far away. A family of 20 members in a house is charged the same as a family of three members,” he said, while seeking to know how the civic body can charge the same sanitary fee for a smaller residential/commercial unit spread across a larger area.
