LAHORE: Elaborating the situation after an agreement between Federal Board of Revenue and real estate representatives, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said the plots allotted to the dependents of martyrs will be exempted from Capital Gains Tax (CGT).
Addressing a news conference at Punjab House, Dar said that however, it will be a one-time exemption and the subsequent transactions will attract the tax.
The minister said that 50% waiver of CGT has been given to the government officials on the sale of plots they get from the government. He said that President Mamnoon Hussain has approved Income Tax Amendment Ordinance Bill 2016 enforcing the package announced by the government for valuation of fair market value of property immediately.
Dar said that the legislation to enact the money bill will require at least one month, therefore, the government decided to implement it immediately through an ordinance.
The normal process of legislation in this regard would be initiated in the upcoming Senate and National Assembly sessions, he added.
The minister said in the previous year the government earned around Rs8 billion revenue from the real estate sector which after legislation is likely to increase up to Rs 70 billion for the current fiscal year 2016-17.
He said no such steps could have been taken in the country’s 70-year history before. The present government, however, managed to bring the reforms which would help bring transparency in the real estate sector, he added.
