By Asad Cheema
ISLAMABAD: Former President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt has said that the amnesty scheme for the construction sector and tax breaks did not benefit masses but the business tycoons.
He said that the builders, developers and makers of construction material banked on the opportunity by increasing the prices of plots and building material making it impossible for poor and middle-income groups to own a house.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said that builders, developers and land mafia whitened their black money and increased prices of plots across the country which went up to 80 percent in the major cities.
Now the dream of owning a house by the middle-class has become dearer due to spike in prices of property and building material, he observed.
The former ICCI chief said that purpose of the construction amnesty scheme and providing status of industry of this sector was to promote housing and generate jobs and to fill in the gap of shortage of millions of housings units but not a single objective was achieved as thought.
He said that weak laws and collusion of influential has made real estate one of the most profitable businesses in Pakistan. Trillions of rupees have been invested in this sector with almost no documentation or taxation.
A study shows that land tax collected in the province of Punjab is less than the land tax collected in one Indian city of Chennai, he said.
The industrial sector is facing many problems therefore many industrialists have started avoiding expansion or setting up new units in favour of investing in the real estate market for higher returns which is a very dangerous trend.
The business leader said that speculation is rife for industrial plots which is threatening the process of industrialization which should be noticed and curtailed.
Economic development should be balanced by axing the amnesty scheme, taxes should be increased as soon as the value of the property goes up, a ban should be imposed on holding plots for profit or such plots should attract double tax, all related rules and regulations should be improved while keeping the interest of masses in mind, he demanded.
