Are Indian Cities Generating Sufficient Revenues? The Case of Bengaluru
Sukanya Bhaumik and Kala S Sridhar
Abstract
This paper estimates the revenue capacities for Bengaluru, based on the city’s economy. It attempts to understand factors that affect the citizens’ willingness to pay taxes and participate in governance through a survey-based approach. The paper finds that Bengaluru’s revenue capacity from own sources was six times higher than its current revenue in 2018-19. In the citizen surveys conducted, it was reported that 70 per cent of the respondent households were willing to pay 5-10 per cent higher in property taxes, if their recommended issue was resolved on a priority basis. In the expert interviews conducted, it was pointed out that the main impediments towards willingness to pay were the lack of transparency in use of funds, inaction against non-payers, and incorrect assessment of properties to ensure adequate property tax collection.