Realty sector gets Rs34b tax relief

Real estate withholding-tax payments fell to Rs42 billion in July-October, down Rs34 billion, or 45%, from a year earlier, The Express Tribune reported. The decline follows a 50% reduction in property advance-tax rates introduced in the budget, which the article says has delivered Rs34 billion in benefits to the sector this fiscal year.

Income-tax payments by salaried people, by contrast, rose to Rs193 billion from Rs179 billion in the same four-month period. The resulting Rs151 billion gap between their contributions and real estate’s was 360% of the latter’s payments, according to provisional figures. Tax collected on property sales dropped 48% to Rs27.3 billion, while collections on purchases fell 37% to Rs14.7 billion.