Cut multiple taxes to bring down property costs: Realty Experts
In an event held recently, realty professionals collectively stressed on the need for cutting down multiple taxes in real estate so as to bring down property costs. The event, organised by commonfloor.com in Bengaluru, saw active participation by stalwarts from real estate fraternity and research & consulting institutes.
During the course of the Boardroom Discussion, the issue of multiple taxation in real estate was brought forth by the professionals. They pointed out that the increase in different types of taxes, be it on the side of the developer, is ultimately going to affect the consumer. Addressing this issue Praveen Kumar, COO – Commercial & Retail, BREN Corporation, said, “Presently, there are multiple taxes, both direct and indirect, that home buyers need to pay to the government. In order to bring down property costs, a major initiative by the government by way of either reducing or doing away with certain taxes will be the right step forward. Certain taxes levied on developers must also be looked upon so that we can ultimately pass on those benefits to the consumers in the form of lower prices.
Meanwhile, Sanjay Ramanujam, CEO, BCIL called for “uniformity in taxes pan-India as there is huge inconsistency in stamp duty and registration charges across different states in the country.”
Interestingly, Irshad Ahmed, President, Irshad Property Matters, suggested a noteworthy solution to the government for increasing their tax coffers. “Instead of increasing multiple taxes on consumers who are already burdened, the government should widen the circle of tax payers. Today, only about 3 per cent of the people in the country are paying taxes.”
He added on to pose a valid question – What about the remaining 97 per cent? Shouldn’t the government try to raise this number rather than focussing on the ones who are already doing their part.
Taking the discussion to an interesting point, P K Mishra, VP- Procurement, Salarpuria Sattva, targeted the red tapism and its regulatory mechanism. According to him, “this mechanism should change drastically which can then allow developers to reduce project delays. He also pointed out that if projects are completed in time, the interest rates will also decrease and will ultimately benefit the consumers.”
Besides analysing the Union Budget 2015-16 and its impact on real estate, the other major discussion revolved around the Smart Cities.
