THE Walton Cantonment Board, Lahore, has increased the property tax manifold this year for the residents of Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Lahore. The property tax, which was Rs24,516 for my house last year, has been increased to Rs112,278 for the current year, which means an abnormal increase of 357 per cent in property tax over the last year.

Such an increase in property tax is unprecedented and unheard of in Pakistan. Generally speaking, it is almost impossible to absorb such a sudden and high increase in the domestic budget of the residents, especially where widows and retired individuals are involved.

We are already facing high inflation in the country which has squeezed people’s spending power.

On top of that, we now have this exorbitant increase in property tax. How can one manage his/her budget with such increase in taxes?

The management of Walton Cantonment Board should review this unbearable increase and bring the tax down to a realistic level.

Ejaz Ahmad Magoon
Lahore

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2022