The Calcutta Municipal Corporation’s earning from property tax has dipped by over 85 per cent for April-May compared to the same period last year, civic officials said on Thursday.

The earning for the two months last year was nearly Rs 230 crore while this year it is about Rs 39 crore, an official said.

The deficit seems to be because of “several factors”, the official said. The Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) tax collection centres had been open on rotation during the lockdown. No centre had opened daily.

All the 16 such collection centres started functioning together again from Thursday, the official said. The low revenue could be because people have withheld payments because of income uncertainty. “Large taxpayers are mostly business entities. As businesses are hit, it could be that the owners have withheld payments to keep capital in hand. They are likely to pay closer to the due date.”

People can make payments online, too, but only 15 per cent of the city’s taxpayers use the online mode, the official said.