Budget 2019: Aim at policies to reintroduce income tax deduction on principal and interest on a second home loan

Keeping up with the tradition, the Narendra Modi-led government ahead of the general election will present an interim Budget on February 1, which is widely expected to contain certain sops for farmers and middle class. The last Budget of the present NDA government is likely to be presented by interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal in the Lok Sabha. Corporate India shared its expectations from Interim Budget 2019: Sumeet Walia, Executive Vice President & Head–Sales, India & APAC, Tata Communications Increasingly, a priority for every business today is digitisation; the Government of India too has been cognisant in allocating budgets to make the Digital India mission a reality. With increasing digital penetration, security has become a growing concern as well and hence needs to be addressed in the upcoming Budget. To that end, a robust cyber security policy framework will greatly support businesses to move in the right direction. Another subject that needs to be addressed, is the lack of appropriate skills to match the rapidly evolving pace of digital innovation. There is a pressing need to increase awareness and access to training to bridge the professional skills gap. The government needs to make significant investments in this direction.” Startups Nakkyun Chong (CEO & Founder ) Avenue11, O2O an (online-to-offline) grocery company E-commerce growth will be boosted by two factors first, a continued and strengthened focus on investments in digital infrastructure resulting in the reduction of data costs for the public and making the internet more accessible for all Indians. Second, increasing incentives for digital payments over cash will not only boost digital growth, but also create a lower barrier to entry for the common man. We believe these two factors working in tandem will not just increase e-commerce penetration in the already technologically-adept Tier I cities, but also prove to be the driving force behind large-scale e-commerce adoption in Tier II and Tier III cities. Simplification of the regulations around accepting foreign direct investments would be a welcome move in the interim Budget. Opening up this channel would allow us to focus more on our overall customer experience. Mayank Bhangadia, CEO & Co-Founder, Roposo, a social platform for sharing photos and videos Year 2018 has been quite an eventful year for startups and domestic companies in India. With a high number of foreign players entering India, it is important to safeguard the interests of Indian consumers as well as Indian companies. If we look at a country like China, their laws and sanctions safeguard the interests of local companies. These companies are now entering India and are creating a problem for domestic companies in India. This is nothing less than invasion and the Interim Budget should showcase a vision for the same. It should include how the government plans to regulate these foreign players and further provide economic relief for domestic players in order to create a level playing field. Along with that, it is important for us to know the implementation of wi-fi hotspots as proposed in the Budget last year. This would help reach the goal of 536 million regional internet users by 2021 as suggested by a 2018-KPMG report. [caption id=“attachment_3886725” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Heena Akhtar, Co- Founder, tripXOXO, a digital platform for travelers Our expectation from the upcoming Budget of 2019 is to have a reframed tax structure along with simplified rules and regulations. Creating a holistic tourism infrastructure and investing into marketing and promotion of the cultural heritage destinations of India will help to attain a decent growth of 15-20 percent in the coming years. The growing budgetary provision will help to enhance the status of employment in the country as well. Saumil Majmudar, Co-Founder & CEO, EduSports Sports has been an integral part of education and the best way for all-round physical and social-emotional development of children. GST rates for services that enable children to play and provide them holistic education should undergo a much-needed revision as they are currently clubbed with luxury items. Getting more children to play in India is not a luxury. It is a crying need of the hour and basis for developing a healthier and fitter next generation of Indians. Real Estate sector Khushru Jijina, Managing Director, Piramal Capital & Housing Finance Indian real estate accounts for 6 percent of the GDP employing close to 18 percent of the workforce and supporting over 350 industries such as cement, paint, steel, etc. The credit crisis within NBFCs delivered a major blow to this sector significantly paring its access to funds. Global financial crisis of 2008 was a costly lesson on what it means for a real estate sector to be out of control. The government needs to take aggressive measures, albeit temporary, to mitigate stress in FY20. To stimulate housing demand in FY20, the Budget should aim at policies to reintroduce income tax deduction on principal and interest on a second home loan. In addition, income tax deduction limit on interest paid should be hiked to Rs 5 lakhs especially in Tier 1 cities. Similarly, IT deduction allowed on principal paid should be increased. The policies should also be aimed at increasing ease of doing business for developers by rationalizing tax structure with a uniform GST preferably lower than 12 percent and merging stamp duty into GST and stimulus package for major developers should be rolled out and delivered through major NBFCs. Farshid Cooper, Managing Director, Spenta Corporation, a realty firm In the 2019 Budget, the real estate industry will be looking for announcements on progressive tax SOPs for sector as well as homebuyers. Among other things, there are two important aspects that we hope are addressed: The cap on deductions available to homebuyers on interest paid for residential property should be increased from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 4 lakh thereby encouraging homebuyers to invest in real estate. Second, to address the issue of affordability, stamp duty should be included in the purview of GST. This has been a longstanding issue for homebuyers and developers alike and we hope that it is addressed as soon as possible. The two aspects hindering the growth of real estate today are affordability and liquidity. Transaction costs for homebuyers have become prohibitive and that is encouraging more and more people to chose renting over buying. With net GST at 12 percent and stamp duty as high as 6-8 percent depending on the state, homebuyers are finding it unaffordable to purchase a home. These aspects need a closer look and a different approach is encouraged. In recent times, liquidity has been a significant hindrance for several developers and HFC’s. With tightening norms around home loan eligibility, several people are left out of the ambit and this can be dangerous for the long term growth of a sector that continues to be India’s second largest jobs provider after agriculture. Nakul Himatsingka, Managing Director, Ideal Group The sector is currently saddled with three compelling issues of high inventory, low liquidity and high input costs . I hope the Budget addresses these issues by introducing financial reengineering concepts to overcome NBFC crisis , favourable deductions and benefits in the tax structures , rethinking the GST policy and applicable percentages , reduction in the home loan rates , focus on infrastructure development and growth. Sachchidanand Rai, Chairman, Eden Realty Group The PMAY schemes for Affordable Housing has provided tremendous boost to struggling real estate sector post long-pending economic reforms. It has not only helped the sector survive, but also forced it to understand the importance of the huge “bottom of the pyramid” opportunity which has been left dormant. The push is in the right direction. What is needed is continuation of the policy for at least next 5 years. Abhishek Bhardwaj, CMO, Shristi Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd Our expectation from this year’s Union Budget will be reduction in house loan rates for home buyers with more tax benefits to the consumers. Also, a GST rate revision (for home buyers) is expected by the realty sector in this year’s Budget. A revised and buyer-friendly GST rate would help boost the realty sector, especially in the affordable housing segment. Sanjay Jain, Group Managing Director, Siddha Group With the Union Budget 2018 announcement right around the corner, our key expectations are for raising of limits for NBFC for financing projects. That will make it easier for us, developers in terms of funding. A better Budget allocation, clarity and faster processing on ground for the CLSS scheme will be appreciated as that will benefit both customers and realtors. It will help customers in purchasing and encourage realtors. Neerja Birla, Founder and Chairperson, Mpower, an organisation that helps people tackle mental health issue Most developed countries allocate around 4 percent of the Budget for mental health, but in India, it’s only around 0.4 percent. I think that if we do not take effective steps now, it will only compound the impact that these rising mental health numbers have on our quality of life and on the economy. By 2030, the losses to the GDP due to mental health (lowered productivity, inability to work, absenteeism, etc.) will be in the trillions. We need to support and supercharge the impact of the positive steps (e.g. Mental Healthcare Act 2017) taken so far with the required funding so that we can actually implement changes, build infrastructure and to make mental healthcare accessible and affordable to every Indian. Tushar Jain, Founder and MD, High Spirit Commercial Ventures Pvt Ltd Cluster-based development for Make in India and encouraging exports is the need of the hour for the development of luggage industry in the country. The government should allocate funds for creating common facilities, so that corporates like us benefit and tap both domestic and international market. We are better positioned than China when it comes to exports in terms of geographical presence, cost of labour and availability of skilled labour. Any positive announcement on increasing income of middle class segment in the country would really boost the demand for consumption which would be good for overall development of the country and growth of various sectors. Manoj Meena, Co-founder & CEO, Atomberg Technologies The current government has always been serious about promoting energy efficient and sustainable solutions. Likewise, BEE star rating appliances are gaining popularity in becoming a factor for consumer choice, more and more manufacturers are getting into 5 star products across categories. But to further give this a push, taxing 5 star products at one slab lower GST compared to non 5 star products could be a massive game changer. Follow LIVE updates of Union Budget 2019 here Follow full coverage of Union Budget 2019-20 here     To keep watching India’s No. 1 English Business News Channel – CNBC-TV18, call your Cable or DTH Operator and ask for the Colors Family Pack (inclusive of 24 channels), available for Rs. 35/- per month, or subscribe to the channel for Rs. 4/- per day. To keep watching the Leader in Global Market & Business News – CNBC-TV18 Prime HD, call your Cable or DTH Operator and ask for the Colors Family HD Pack (inclusive of 25 channels), available for Rs. 50/- per month, or subscribe to the channel for Rs. 1/- per day.