Outcry in Margao at municipal tax hike

Margao: Residents of Margao took to the streets on Wednesday to protest against what they described as an “unjustified huge hike” in municipal taxes imposed by the Margao Municipal Council (MMC).The demonstration, led by former MMC chairperson Savio Coutinho, saw citizens gathering outside the municipal building, raising slogans denouncing the tax increase.The protest, organised under the banner ‘Citizens and Taxpayers of Margao’, faced initial resistance from police who redirected demonstrators from the municipal building entrance to the nearby garden gate. This sparked a brief dispute between the protesters and the police. PI Tulsidas Naik intervened and held discussions with the protesters before allowing them to continue their demonstration at the designated location.“If the council does not retract its decision on the tax increase, we will file a petition in court,” said Coutinho. The former chairperson was vocal in challenging the claims made by Margao MLA Digamber Kamat and MMC chairperson Damodar Shirodkar that residents were content with the tax increases.A delegation led by Coutinho later met with Shirodkar to present its demands. A heated exchange took place between the two as Coutinho demanded an explanation for the steep hike.Protesters disputed Shirodkar’s previous assertion that trade licence fees weren’t increased for 10-15 years, pointing to receipts showing annual 10% increases.They demanded a rollback of the fee hike and refund of additional payments collected since April 2.