LAHORE - People associated with real estate business on Sunday demanded that the federal government revise the newly-introduced policy on Capital Gains Tax (CGT).

They threatened to stage a countrywide demonstration on June 27 if their demands are not meet.

A number of real estate associations were pushing for acceptance of their demands during a press conference at the Lahore Press Club yesterday.

The new policy to maintain CGT for ten years would destroy the real estate industry and it should be revised to original CGT tenure for three years, they said.

DHA estate agents General Secretary Mian Shahid said the new policy would destroy the real estate industry. The protesters raised their voice against the Federal Board of Revenue’s recently introduced ‘unfair’ evaluation of properties in the country. “The FBR just doubled the DC rates which did not match the ground reality at all,” one of them said.

They alleged that the new FBR evaluation was unrealistic and stakeholders were not consulted while preparing the policy.

Protest likely on June 27

“The valuation of properties should be brought on a par with the fair market value otherwise the real estate dealers would be on roads on June 27,” he said.  DHA property dealers union President Abubakar Bhatti, General Secretary Mian Shahid Mehmood, Chairman Malik Asif Jahangir and a large number of property dealers from different parts of the city were present at the press conference.

They said that former finance minister Ishaq Dar of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz suppressed their rights and the incumbent government also disappointed them with heavy taxation. “More than 40 businesses are connected with the real estate industry and the new taxation would not do any good to these businesses,” he said.