Photographs: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday raised tax deduction limit by Rs 100,000 for the first time home buyers to promote the housing sector.
"...a person taking a loan for his first home from a bank or a housing finance corporation up to Rs 25 lakh during the period April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014 will be entitled to an additional deduction of interest of up to Rs 100,000," he announced while presenting Budget 2013-14 in Parliament.
"If the limit is not exhausted, the balance may be claimed in 2015-16. This deduction will be over and above the deduction of Rs 150,000 allowed for self-occupied properties under section 24 of the Income-tax Act," he said.
The move is likely to promote home ownership and give a fillip to a number of industries including steel, cement, brick, wood, and glass besides providing jobs to thousands of construction workers.
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