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Tunisia - The National Chamber of Real Estate Promoters (CSNPI) rejects the imposition of a 19% VAT on houses sold by real estate promoters in the draft 2018 Finance Law (FL), said CSNPI President Fahmi Chaabane.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Chaabane added that this measure has not been discussed with industry professionals and that its adoption will be a disaster for the sector and the citizen.
He pointed out that this new measure will not only harm the sector, but it will have a negative impact on the banking sector, the industrial fabric of the building sector and especially the citizen.
Tunisians can no longer afford housing, because of the deterioration of purchasing power, the submission of the sector to VAT will only make things more complicated and the Tunisian will be more and more reluctant to buy a house, he reiterated.
The official also recalled that the sector is facing a number of difficulties, including soaring prices for raw materials, especially imports, the fall in the Tunisian dinar exchange rate against other currencies, rising prices for quarry products, liberalisation of the cement sector and the lack of specialised labour.
He also mentioned the slowness of administrative procedures, citing as an example the duration of granting a building permit that can reach up to 2 years in some areas against 40 or 45 days, before.
Chaabane said that the chamber will present proposals and alternatives that take into account the situation of the sector and the citizen’s purchasing power while guaranteeing tax justice and the right of the state to mobilise additional resources.
Regarding the first housing programme, launched in February 2017, Chaabane indicated that the chamber had proposed to increase the gross monthly income ceiling of 10 to 15 times the SMIG and allow the acquisition of housing whose price does not exceed 250 or 270 thousand dinars against 200 thousand dinars, before.
In this regard, 600 housing units were sold under this programme, 350 of which had been handed over to their new owners and 250 dwellings are in the process of being sold (completion of the procedures with the banks to obtain the agreement of principle or for the completion of safeguards formalities).
The real estate development sector represents 14% of total annual investments in the country, 12.6% of the added-value of the national economy and 8% of the total credits granted by banks.
© Tunis-Afrique Presse 2017
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Chaabane added that this measure has not been discussed with industry professionals and that its adoption will be a disaster for the sector and the citizen.
He pointed out that this new measure will not only harm the sector, but it will have a negative impact on the banking sector, the industrial fabric of the building sector and especially the citizen.
Tunisians can no longer afford housing, because of the deterioration of purchasing power, the submission of the sector to VAT will only make things more complicated and the Tunisian will be more and more reluctant to buy a house, he reiterated.
The official also recalled that the sector is facing a number of difficulties, including soaring prices for raw materials, especially imports, the fall in the Tunisian dinar exchange rate against other currencies, rising prices for quarry products, liberalisation of the cement sector and the lack of specialised labour.
He also mentioned the slowness of administrative procedures, citing as an example the duration of granting a building permit that can reach up to 2 years in some areas against 40 or 45 days, before.
Chaabane said that the chamber will present proposals and alternatives that take into account the situation of the sector and the citizen’s purchasing power while guaranteeing tax justice and the right of the state to mobilise additional resources.
Regarding the first housing programme, launched in February 2017, Chaabane indicated that the chamber had proposed to increase the gross monthly income ceiling of 10 to 15 times the SMIG and allow the acquisition of housing whose price does not exceed 250 or 270 thousand dinars against 200 thousand dinars, before.
In this regard, 600 housing units were sold under this programme, 350 of which had been handed over to their new owners and 250 dwellings are in the process of being sold (completion of the procedures with the banks to obtain the agreement of principle or for the completion of safeguards formalities).
The real estate development sector represents 14% of total annual investments in the country, 12.6% of the added-value of the national economy and 8% of the total credits granted by banks.
© Tunis-Afrique Presse 2017
