Kohat realtors protest 'illegal' tax.

KOHAT -- The realtors on Friday observed a strike in front of the office of the project director of the Kohat Development Authority against the 'unjustified' evaluation tax.

Talking to mediapersons on the occasion, Pir Yousuf Shah, president of the property dealers association, and vice president Mamoor Ali Jan said rate of a five marla plot had been fixed at Rs1.6 million, excluding tax, which the poor could not buy.

The protesting realtors said if a poor man would buy a plot for millions of rupees then how he would be able to construct a house.

They also assailed two per cent tax on sale and purchase of plots.

They said the ever-increasing land rates had negated the prime ministers' promise of providing cheap housing to the people.

The realtors' body leaders claimed that the evaluation tax had only been imposed in Kohat. They said value of one marla land had been fixed at Rs320,000 which was much higher than the market price. Similarly, they said FBR had imposed two per cent tax (Rs6,400) per marla for non-filers, which had badly affected the property business.

They pointed out that price of a 10-marla plot had risen to Rs3.264 million after imposition of the two per cent tax.

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