It’s the property value that’s up, says exco man

JOHOR BARU: The hike in assessment for property owners is due to the increase in the property value over the past decade, says Johor executive councillor Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor.

The housing and local government committee chairman said the last time local councils in Johor – with the exception of the Kulai Municipal Council (MPKu) – conducted a property valuation and tax (rate) adjustment was in 2013.

“MPKu managed to carry out a review of property valuation and assessment rates in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic. The remaining 15 local councils have yet to carry out the procedure, but they were supposed to do it in 2021.

“Due to the Covid-19 situation at that time, the state government decided to postpone the review so as to not add a burden to property owners.

“By right, the process has to be conducted once every five years, but we are now about nine years behind schedule. As such, some councils are now carrying out the process as they are legally required to do so under the Local Government Act 1976 (Act 171),” he told The Star.

Mohd Jafni said the five local councils that are currently carrying out the process are the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB), Iskandar Puteri City Council (MBIP), Pasir Gudang City Council (MBPG), Kluang Municipal Council (MPK), and Pengerang Municipal Council (MPP).

The new assessment will be based on valuations done in 2020, he said.

Mohd Jafni added that despite the increase in the amount of assessment that property owners have to pay, the new rate imposed by the local councils is actually lower or remains the same in most cases.

“There is a misunderstanding among many. They feel that the government (local council) is imposing a higher taxation rate, but in actual fact, the rate is low – but because the value of the properties has gone up by three to four times, the amount of tax they have to pay goes up as well.

“We need to remember that we were previously looking at the value of the properties in 2013. It has been almost 10 years now, and naturally, the value of the properties have gone up, especially in urban areas.

“Presently, the taxation rate is still below 1% at the five local councils involved despite the fact that they could have been set as high as 5%.

“We understand the people’s grouses but this is a process that local councils are legally bound to do. It could also be beneficial to property owners as this means that their properties now have a higher value.

“The money collected from the tax will also benefit them as we will use it to maintain and upgrade public facilities such as roads, drains and other infrastructure,” added Mohd Jafni.

On claims by property owners that they have yet to receive the letter of notice (about the readjustment of assessment), he urged them to reach out to their local councils as soon as possible to find out.

He said by right, the taxpayers should have received the notice earlier, with some local councils also putting up the same notice in newspapers to inform the public.

“Those who have objections to the adjustment should reach out to their councils to find out how they can submit an appeal,” he said.

Meanwhile, MBJB councillor Teow Chia Ling said she has been receiving telephone calls from ratepayers in the city voicing their dissatisfaction with the increase in assessment for next year.

“Some claimed that the assessment hikes for their premises ranged from 100% to 400%. I had to explain to them that the new assessment reflects the value of their property,” said Teow.

She added that property owners under MBJB’s jurisdiction could still submit an appeal by 5pm tomorrow, either in person or email [e-mail].