More to pay: Five local councils in Johor now charge more in assessments. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
JOHOR BARU: The recent property evaluation exercise coupled with revisions in assessment rates by five of the 16 local councils in Johor is leaving many property owners upset as they have to pay significantly higher assessments (cukai pintu) next year.
This is applicable in five councils, including Johor Baru City Hall (MBJB), covering both residential and commercial properties.
A shop owner here, who only wanted to be known as Saiful, 50, is unhappy that the assessment for his three-storey shoplot in Johor Jaya will be going up by 111.6%.
“My shop has been revalued to RM1.56mil, from the current RM851,000, while the assessment rate has also gone up to 0.23% from 0.2%.
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“As such, I will have to pay RM3,601.80 starting next year, compared with RM1,702 now,” he told The Star, adding that the timing for the review is “wrong” as the people are struggling to cope with the rising cost of living, not just for food but also rental and healthcare.
Trader Syed Mohd Ghazafi Syed Abu Bakar, 52, said the annual assessment he has to pay for his medium-cost single-storey house in Taman Daya will go up to RM280 from RM182 currently, even though he was actually given a lower assessment rate next year.
This was because his house has been revalued to around RM350,000 from RM140,000, even as the assessment rate went down from 0.13% to 0.08%.
“This is just the wrong time as the people are already facing all kinds of burdens, including the increase in the overnight policy rate (OPR) by Bank Negara.
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“As the OPR now stands at 3%, the monthly amount I have to pay for my house is about RM1,100, up from RM700 previously. This means that I am now forking out an extra RM400 just to pay the housing loan.
“Most people are seeing a similar increase in their loans.
“The cost of living has also gone up significantly, and on top of all of these issues, we now have to also pay a higher assessment rate,” he said.
The father of five said he hopes MBJB would consider postponing the implementation of the new assessment regime until Bank Negara announces a lower OPR.
“This will at least give us some breathing space.
“I understand that MBJB still has to readjust the tax based on the current value of the properties.
“However, most people are not prepared to face it now.
“We need to remember that there are many people out there, including me, who were previously in the M40 category but are now in the B40 category due to the financial challenges they faced during the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.
Retiree Nancy Wong, 69, who lives in Desa Tebrau, said she would have to further cut her daily expenses now that her assessment increased from RM372 annually to RM695.
“I did not like what I saw when I opened the MBJB notice about the tax hike.
“I am living on my own with no consistent source of income, so this means that I’ll have to dig further into my savings to cope with the already high cost of living. I often have to look for bargains when I do my shopping.
“Apart from groceries and other expenses, I am also paying a monthly maintenance fee of RM200 for my apartment,” said Wong, who added that she has submitted an appeal to the council to relook her case.
“I am fine with an increase if it is reasonable, but an 86% increase is just too much for common people like me,” she said after MBJB revalued her apartment from RM186,000 to RM317,000, while also marginally increasing her assessment rate from 0.2% to 0.22%.
It was understood that besides MBJB, other local councils that have revalued properties along with reviewing assessment rates are the Iskandar Puteri City Council, Pasir Gudang City Council, Pengerang City Council and Kluang Municipal Council.
