The Chisinau Municipal Council approved new property tax rates following the modification of the Land Code last yearend. Deputy mayor Mihai Furtuna said that according to the new amendments, the lowest land and improvements tax is 0.02%, while the highest one – 0.25% of the tax base, Info-Prim Neo reports. “The tax rates are set annually by the local public authorities,” the deputy mayor said. The tax on residential property (apartments, private houses and the land adjoining them) that occupies up to 100 square meters constitutes 0.03% of the tax base, on the property that occupies 100 to 200 square meters is 0.09%, while on the real estate that is over 200 square meters in area – 0.12%. The tax on garages and plots on which they are situated and the lots of the agricultural associations will be 0.03% of the tax base. The tax on farmland, except the pastures, will be 1.5 lei per hectare for the land with cadastral indexes and 110 lei for the land without such indexes. The tax on meadows and pastures will be 0.75 lei and 55 lei respectively, while on the land occupied by lakes and ponds - 115 lei per hectare of water. The yearly tax on quarries and land destroyed as a result of production activities was set at 350 lei per hectare. The new tax rates will be applied from January 1, 2010.