Council marks 7.7% increase in 2023 assessment collection

AMPANG Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) recorded a 7.7% increase in assessment tax collection last year, with RM84mil collected in 2023 compared to RM78mil in 2022.

Council president Dr Ani Ahmad attributed the increase to the campaigns by MPAJ to encourage ratepayers to settle their assessment payment on time.

“In 2022, MPAJ created a taskforce whose members would visit selected locations and remind property owners to pay up,” she said.

“They would also issue Notice E to owners who failed to settle their assessment tax on time.”

Those issued with Notice E must remit payment within 24 hours and will be levied a 2% late payment charge.

Errant owners will be issued an attachment warrant, which will allow the local authority to confiscate items inside their premises.

Ani said MPAJ also collected some RM20.5mil in assessment arrears and is targeting to collect RM22mil in arrears this year.

“As for regular assessment, we hope to collect RM87.5mil this year, owing to the increase in the number of property owners in Ampang Jaya,” she added.

Ani was speaking after a prizegiving event for winners of an MPAJ lucky draw competition held at MPAJ Convention Centre in Taman Melawati, Hulu Kelang.

The winners were drawn from some 49,000 property owners who paid their assessment tax last year.

Nineteen winners received home appliances while two walked away with a motorcycle each as the grand prize.

To qualify for the draw, an owner must have a clean payment record without any arrears since MPAJ’s inception in 1992.

Ani said the lucky draw, which offered prizes worth up to RM300,000, was held to encourage property owners to settle their assessment payment on time.

Separately, she said that MPAJ’s Endowment Fund had collected RM128,000 as of Jan 26.

She said some council staff voluntarily contributed to the fund via salary deduction, in addition to donations from the public and contractors.

Launched in June last year, the fund is aimed at financing maintenance of public amenities in Ampang Jaya.

These included the cleaning of drains, tree cutting as well as housing and feeding stray animals in the municipality.