ISLAMABAD, (Sohail Anjum Malik): President of Islamabad Estate Agents Association Progressive Etihad Group Atif Jameel Butt has said that protection should be provided to the real estate sector because the real estate sector is the backbone of the country’s economy. Taxes should be reduced, DC and FBR should end the double standard regarding property valuation so that the government can get additional revenue. While holding a press conference at the National Press Club Islamabad, he further said that the real estate sector is the backbone of the country’s economy, the role of the state is like a mother.The government should support the real estate sector as the government gets the highest revenue from this sector but unfortunately this sector is the most neglected, the government should encourage voluntary implementation and regularization of tax matters. Recommend a general amnesty specially designed for dealers. This will help bring more dealers into the formal tax net and promote transparency in the sector. Real estate agents want to pay taxes to the government, but due to government policies, they face severe difficulties, regarding property value. There is a difference of up to eight percent between the DC value and the FBR value, which has stopped the transfer of property, which is causing the loss in the form of non-revenue to the government.The government should refrain from further increase in DC valuation in the next budget and maintain it at the current level as this increase will cause more difficulties in collecting tax revenue, the advance tax for filers should also be reduced or it should be kept at the current level. should be maintained, whatever the government decides about non-filers, tax exemptions should be given to overseas Pakistanis while buying property so that investment can increase in the country, reducing the tax burden on taxpayers will result in more real estate. Estate agents will be motivated to become filers and contribute to the country’s tax revenue. The government will have to take decisions in consultation with stakeholders to bring more taxpayers into the tax net.A complex system of tax rules and procedures can deter dealers from fulfilling their tax obligations. Steps should be taken to simplify the tax collection process, improve access to information and provide clear guidelines for real estate professionals and dealers to have a one-page income tax return.
