Budget Expectation Quote | Signature Global | Square Yards

 Piyush Bothra, Co-founder and CFO, Square Yards

Real estate is one of the most important sectors for growth and job creation. This sector has seen positive trends after a prolonged bear phase and expects a good handholding in the upcoming Union Budget 2023 from the government at this critical juncture. Given the rising interest rates and overall inflation, property buyers want the standard Rs 2 lakh tax deduction on interest paid on home loans to be increased to Rs 5 lakhs as it will bring more salaried people in the bracket and help realize the dream of first-time home buyers. Further, there should be a ticket-wise criterion for the affordable housing in metro and non-metro cities that tallies with local market realities. The Rs 45 lakh limit should be increased to Rs 80 lakh in metro cities and 60-65 lakh in non-metro cities so that more homes are within the affordable price range and people can take benefits of lower GST rates, government subsidies and tax deduction benefits on home loans.

Mr. Pradeep Aggarwal, Founder & Chairman, Signature Global

Real estate, especially the residential segment, has bounced and is playing a significant role in bringing momentum to the economy.

Government should reconsider the loss set-off limit under the income tax head house property. Earlier there was no such limit, but in the Finance Act 2017, government restricted the amount of loss to up to Rs 2 lakh per year under the head House Property which is allowed to be set-off against Income from Other Sources. This limit should be removed or enhanced to bring back investors in the sector, this will eventually support the rental housing market to meet demand.

Besides that, keeping in view high inflation and significant rise in borrowing cost in the last few months, there is an urgent need of tax sops, especially for home buyers in affordable and mid-segment housing, to overcome the financial hardship.

I think the government should enhance the deduction limit against interest payment on home loans. For home buyers in the affordable housing segment, entire interest on home should be allowed as a deduction.