KARACHI: Real estate is one of the most lucrative avenues of investment. Yet it has also been the pumping force behind financial bubbles in recent history. This calls for a theoretical, logical investigation and analysis of pros and cons of this investment tool.Kevin Spacey, in the famous movie Superman Returns, remembers and reproduces a precious piece of advice from his father. His father told him that land is a perpetually scare resource, you can print more money but land is limited. How true is this observation I leave to the judgment of the readers.It is from this perpetual ...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s efforts to curb the use of black money in the real estate sector, and enhance its tax collection have been dealt a serious blow. The country’s bureaucracy has halted implementation on two key reforms, which were introduced by the last PML-N government.The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has delayed the notification for the establishment of Directorate General of Immovable Properties that could have given authorities the first right to acquire assets that were undervalued to evade taxes. It has also not increased the property valuation rates in big cities as an alternate to the DG Immovable ...

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Sheikh Amir Waheed has urged the government to reduce taxes on the real estate sector so that it can spur economic development.His remarks came as he addressed a delegation of Islamabad Estate Agents Association (IEAA).Waheed said that the real estate sector is vital in promoting industry, and employment but imposition of taxes has badly affected its growth.“The growth of about 250 ancillary industries including cement, steel, brick, timber and building material is linked with the real estate sector,” he remarked.Key reforms for Pakistan’s real estate sector hit a snag“However, ...

ISLAMABAD: A panel of senators has stressed the importance of swiftly setting up a Real Estate Authority in the federal capital to help protect the rights of land allottees.This was stated in a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Capital Administration was held under the chair of Senator Dr Ashok Kumar at the Parliament House on Monday.During the meeting, Senator Mohsin Aziz of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf  (PTI) reviewed the Real Estate Bill and asserted that establishment of a Real Estate Authority was imperative to protect allottees’ rights.To elaborate his point, he said that residents of the capital ...

ISLAMABAD: The tax contribution by Pakistan’s booming realty sector, where most of the untaxed money is parked, stood at only Rs23 billion or less than 0.1% of the size of national economy in the previous fiscal year.To tackle such challenges posed by a weak tax administration and a culture of tax evasion, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government may appoint the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) chairman from the private sector.The realty sector, where huge black money is parked, paid slightly over Rs23 billion in the last fiscal year 2017-18. This included tax collection under an amnesty scheme for ...

KARACHI: Pakistan's real estate sector seems to be experiencing a slowdown in activity as stakeholders are now getting used to new regulations and the tax regime.The rough patch comes after the government introduced various changes in a bid to increase its revenue and control the flow of illicit money into the sector, cornering speculators and non-filers of income tax returns.Key reforms for Pakistan’s real estate sector hit a snagHowever, in a survey conducted by The Express Tribune, several real estate agents say there has been a major slowdown in business for several months, and it started even before ...