mumbai the realty industry has high expectations from finance minister arun jaitleys budget to be announced tomorrow as it wants clarity on real estate investment trusts reits and foreign direct investment in the sector the sector is hoping for removal of dividend distribution tax on distribution of profits by special purpose vehicle to reits removal of tax deducted at source on distribution of income by business trust nonresidents and exemption from stamp duty on transfer of asset to reits the new government has the opportunity of making indian real estate more investmentfriendly and attractive by introducing a revised tax code until vital changes to overcome the tax hurdles are taken reits which can be a lifesaver for the sector cannot take off property consultant jones lang lasalle india chairman and country head anuj puri said last year the real estate sector got muchneeded attention in the budget and got important announcement such as passthrough of taxes for reits changes in fdi policy and tax incentives for end consumers the sector expects few more initiatives colliers international associate director research surabhi arora said rbs financial services india head of real estate services anand moorthy said the clarity on reits is crucial as it is expected to have a farreaching implication in foreign investment flows bank funds and could also provide opportunities for domestic investors to invest in debt returns from incomeyielding assets besides clarity on reits and fdi the sector is expecting some decisive action on giving it an infrastructure status single window clearance extension of tax incentives for home loan buyers among others if housing is given infrastructure status funding could be made easier with easy role over besides home loan rates should be brought below 75 per cent while lending rates need to be below 10 per cent kumar urban development chairman and md lalit kumar jain said tata housing managing director and ceo brotin banerjee said that governments ambitious targets for developing smart cities and affordable housing projects are closely linked to infrastructure development and need to keep pace with rapid urbanisation