Housing supply should increase

Housing supply should increase
  • 2020-07-08
  • .
Member of the Parliamentary Committee on Industries and Mines: The issue of tax on vacant houses in the 11th parliament is also on the agenda to implement this plan to create a source of income for the government and reduce prices in the housing market by offering these units.

According to the Iran Stone Exhibition, in the program "Bi Qab Bi Bi Niqab", Goftougo Radio was discussed with the presence of Abolfazl Norouzi, a housing expert, and Ali Akbar Karimi, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly.

* Seventy percent of the demand in the housing market is capital demand

 Referring to the main roots of the housing crisis in the country, Nowruzi said: "The first root of the current housing market situation is the lack of housing supply, because every market when there is a shortage of supply, the gap between supply and demand increases prices and the housing market." The rule is no exception.

He added: "According to studies, a comprehensive housing plan should have been built in the country by 1404 per year, but unfortunately in the last six to seven years, at best, only 300,000 housing units have been built annually, which is a total of only 4 million housing shortages." It shows in the last six to seven years.

The housing expert pointed out that the second root of the housing market problem should be sought in the capital market capital demand, which reaches up to 70% of total demand, meaning that seven out of every ten houses built are bought by brokers and traders.

Nowruzi added: "On the one hand, the supply of housing is low, and on the other hand, the same supply is not enough for real housing applicants, and the brokers are disrupting the housing market."

Emphasizing that the tax plan on vacant houses, if implemented effectively, will both increase the supply of vacant houses and prevent capital demand, he said: Housing hoarding is now a serious issue and according to the 2016 census, about two and a half There are half a million vacant homes in the country, but that number has probably increased over the past four years.

Nowruzi added: "Of course, when it comes to taxing empty houses, the goal is not to collect taxes from an empty house of a family, but to collect taxes from people who have a large number of vacant houses and are waiting to offer them after prices rise." .

Emphasizing that the judiciary should deal with vacant and hoarded homes legally, he said, but the main strategy is to regulate the government through taxes, because taxes are both a means of increasing income and a means of economic regulation. Empty houses were approved in 2015 in accordance with the law amending the law on direct taxes, according to which the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development was obliged to put into operation the real estate and housing system within six months to implement this law, but unfortunately this was done in time. The ministry of Abbas Akhundi was not carried out.

* Tenants are unable to renew their lease

Karimi said that the 10th parliament had prepared a plan to discuss the property and housing income tax issue, but when the 10th parliament ended, the plan did not materialize.

He added that although the government claimed that a bill was being prepared for the tax on total income and capital gains, it had not yet submitted a bill to parliament.

"Inflationary conditions and the opportunities created by the real estate market have enriched the wealthy and made huge profits, and if these profits are taxed, the resources can be obtained," said a member of the House Industries and Mines Committee. Allocated subsidies to low-income people

"Unfortunately, the housing market is currently making it difficult for tenants, and many people are unable to extend their rent or find other homes in the same neighborhood, and Karimi has been forced to move to other neighborhoods," Karimi said. It has created a lot for the people.

He added: "Housing prices are a function of supply and demand, and considering that there was no plan that could lead to mass supply of housing after the Mehr housing project, the country has practically faced housing shortages." In the last few years, about 300,000 housing units have been produced annually in the country, which has been mainly for the middle and upper middle classes, and therefore the weak ones need support to become homeowners.

* Parliament had to oversee the taxation of vacant homes

Nowruzi said: "Mr. Karimi's argument was about capital gains tax, while the main topic of discussion in this program was why taxes on vacant houses are not enforced and why the parliament does not use its own oversight position."

He added: "The parliament is a supervisory body, but since 2015, when the tax on vacant houses has not been implemented, the parliament has not effectively monitored this issue, while the parliament could have forced the government to implement the law." Of course, it is not too late now, and the parliament can announce a deadline for the ministry to collect taxes on vacant houses, so that it can be leased to the country's rental market by receiving additional taxes.

The housing expert noted that Mr. Akhundi did not believe in collecting taxes from vacant houses and repeatedly interviewed that the law on tax collection from vacant houses was difficult, but as an official he did nothing to solve the problems of the law in parliament and government.

Nowruzi continued: "Of course, I also believe that the tax law on vacant houses had a problem, but this problem was due to the tax rate, which was not effective and could not create a deterrent." According to that law, the tax on an empty house of one billion tomans would be about ten million tomans a year, which was not a deterrent, but if the same law was implemented, it would generate about ten thousand billion tomans of revenue for the government. If the tax law on empty houses were enforced, in addition to generating revenue for the government, the objections to that law would be self-evident, and now this year we are facing a progressive law whose objections have been remedied.

Nowruzi said: "Of course, due to the lack of work of the officials, the real estate and accommodation system was finally prepared late last year, but no information has been uploaded in it, and for this reason it is necessary for various agencies such as municipalities, the Ministry of Justice, Niroo and the Ministry of Labor, Cooperation and Social Welfare should provide their information to the real estate and housing system. If the system is completed using information from other agencies, vacant homes can be identified so that the IRS can collect taxes from them later. However, in this year's budget, municipalities were required to help identify vacant homes at 50 percent. Receive income from.

* The parliament is pursuing tax evasion from vacant homes

Karimi added: "What Mr. Nowruzi mentioned is the discussion of the Direct Taxes Law of 1394, in which an article was brought in relation to tax collection from vacant houses, but because that article did not take into account the executive considerations." , Not implemented.

He continued: "The Tax Affairs Organization also said that the information of vacant houses should be provided to this organization so that it can collect taxes, but other agencies apparently did not have this information under various pretexts or did not provide it to the Tax Affairs Organization. The law of direct taxes did not apply. Of course, due to its oversight duties, the parliament addressed the issue of taxing vacant houses, but the government did not have the will or determination to implement it.

The member of the Parliamentary Committee on Industries and Mines continued: "The issue of tax on vacant houses in the 11th parliament is both on the agenda to create a source of income for the government and reduce prices in the housing market by offering these units." However, given the youth marriage and the need to replace worn-out units, it seems that the main strategy of the housing market management is the mass supply of housing throughout the country.

The MP added: "Unfortunately, the volume of housing production in the country in recent years has not been commensurate with the needs of the country and now the dense demand in recent years is putting pressure on the housing market and has caused excessive prices." Of course, the influx of large amounts of liquidity into the housing market has also contributed to this.

* Fars