GUJRANWALA, Dec 27: The excise and taxation authorities have significantly enhanced property tax and sent notices to the property owners for payment. While two major towns Qila Deedar Singh and Gakkhar have also been included in the tax net.

Property owners, including traders and civil society activists, have refused to pay what they say heavy tax and demanded that it should be slashed and revised notices be issued to them, information gathered by Dawn revealed.

The E&TD has sent property tax of Rs20,000 to Rs30,000 to traders and house owners who said the amount was much higher than the last year’s. Some traders of Urdu Bazaar, Talib Hussain, Ashfaq, Zaman and Kamran, said they had been asked to pay property tax between Rs20,000 and Rs66,000, though they had paid between Rs2,000 and Rs5,000 last year. Some people said the excise department had issued notices even to five-marla houses which were exempt from the tax.

Meanwhile, the residents of Qila Deedar Singh and Gakkhar towns too protested against imposition of property tax. They said it was a burden on them and that they would resist the move to bring the two towns into tax net.

Excise officials said the property tax of these two major towns could not be remitted, however, anyone with complaint of inflated property tax could get the bills rectified by the department.