If you're getting a good discount on a new house, don't dally till July or you could lose a chunk of it. The reason: service tax of 3.3 per cent announced in the budget for a property under construction. Some developers are planning to pass this on to the customers as a separate component in the overall bill. If this happens, most of the discount that the developer ultimately gives you will end up being taken up by the service tax component.
However, developers do not see this dampening the demand for residential housing. They believe the change in personal tax slabs will leave more disposable income in the hands of the consumer. Also, most salaried consumers should be getting a pay hike in the next few months. These factors are expected to offset the marginal impact of the service tax component.
