Business
Budget 2026: Kolkata realtors seek tax relief, revised affordable housing cap; eye demand revival – The Times of India
Real estate developers in Kolkata have urged the Centre to use the Union Budget to recalibrate housing policies to reflect rising land and construction costs, calling for higher tax benefits for homebuyers and a long-pending revision of the affordable housing definition to revive demand, especially in the mid-income segment, PTI reported.With the Budget set to be tabled on February 1, industry players said measures such as revisiting price caps for affordable homes, rationalising GST on under-construction properties and easing approval processes could significantly improve affordability and sales momentum.Sushil Mohta, president of CREDAI West Bengal and chairman of Merlin Group, said reforms must align with current market realities. “Revisiting the affordable housing definition, rationalising housing loan interest deductions and streamlining GST rates will significantly improve affordability and demand, especially for middle-income homebuyers,” he told PTI, adding that a policy push for rental housing and wider access to formal housing finance is crucial amid rapid urbanisation.Mahesh Agarwal, managing director of Purti Realty, said continued policy support through tax rationalisation and infrastructure spending remains critical. “A re-evaluation of affordable housing price limits in line with rising land and construction costs, along with adjustments to GST on under-construction property, will enhance affordability,” he said, stressing that simpler tax frameworks and incentives for first-time buyers would help stabilise the market and speed up project execution.Echoing similar concerns, Merlin Group MD Saket Mohta pointed to sharp increases in construction costs since the introduction of GST in 2017, underscoring the need for further rationalisation. He also called for raising the affordable housing price cap from Rs 45 lakh to around Rs 80–90 lakh and expanding unit size norms. “Mid-income housing will be the key demand driver going into 2026, and supportive tax and policy measures are essential to sustain growth,” he said.Eden Realty MD Arya Sumant said the Budget must strike a balance between fiscal discipline and growth-oriented reforms. “Higher home loan interest deductions for mid-income and first-time buyers, an updated affordable housing definition, GST rationalisation and faster approvals will improve project viability and speed-to-market,” he said, adding that sustained urban infrastructure investment would unlock demand across residential and commercial segments.Sahil Saharia, CEO of Bengal Shristi Infrastructure Development Ltd, said policy focus should shift towards large, integrated developments. “Support for mixed-use townships, rental housing and commercial hubs, along with faster clearances and digital single-window mechanisms, can help create self-sustained urban ecosystems and improve execution efficiency,” he said.Developers said clear and stable policy signals in the Budget could help restore homebuyer confidence, attract long-term capital and ensure sustainable growth for the real estate sector in eastern India.
Business
Trump sides with crypto firms in trillion-dollar battle with banks over stablecoin yield
US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One before departing Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on March 1, 2026, on his way back to Washington, DC.
Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images
President Donald Trump has thrown his support behind crypto firms in their high-stakes battle with U.S. banks over whether they can offer interest-like returns on stablecoins.
Trump, in a social media post late Tuesday, ratcheted up pressure on banks to relent on the stablecoin yield issue.
That’s the key point of contention holding up passage in Congress of the Clarity Act, which is a companion bill to the Genius Act approved last year, setting up a framework for regulated stablecoins.
“The Genius Act is being threatened and undermined by the Banks, and that is unacceptable,” Trump said in his post. “They need to make a good deal with the Crypto Industry because that’s what’s in best interest of the American People.”
Coinbase shares surged as much as 13% in early trading Wednesday, while shares of JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America fell less than 1%.
While Trump’s decision to back the crypto industry could sway members of his Republican Party in the GOP-led Congress, it’s unclear whether his support is enough to ensure the bill’s passage. The move also raises fresh questions over potential conflict of interests, as the president and his family have reportedly generated hundreds of millions of dollars in wealth from interests in firms including the crypto platform World Liberty Financial.
The dispute between the industries centers on whether crypto firms like Coinbase can offer yields on stablecoins. While crypto companies see it as a consumer-friendly innovation that will let people earn money on their idle funds, banks have warned that the competing product could siphon trillions of dollars from their industry.
$6.6 trillion threat?
Executives from JPMorgan and Bank of America, the two largest American lenders by assets, have cited a Treasury study that indicated that banks could lose up to $6.6 trillion in deposits if stablecoins offered a yield.
That could destabilize some banks, especially smaller ones, and remove a source of funding for loans to businesses across the country.
Allowing the less-regulated crypto industry to behave like quasi-banks could heighten systemic risk, banks argue. Crypto firms say that the risks are contained and that stablecoins backed by Treasuries will boost demand for U.S. debt.
“It can’t be, you have these people doing one thing without any regulation, and these people doing another,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon told CNBC’s Leslie Picker on Monday. “If you do that, the public will pay. It will get bad.”
In recent months, the president has hosted a series of White House meetings between the two sides in hopes of brokering a deal, but the banks haven’t relented, according to people with knowledge of the gatherings.
Now, he is explicitly putting his weight behind crypto.
“Americans should earn money on their money,” Trump said in the post. “This industry cannot be taken from the People of America when it is so close to becoming truly successful.”
‘Full of s–t’
That phrasing is similar to language that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has used in interviews. Coinbase is the largest U.S. crypto platform and provides yield to members through what critics in the banking industry call a “loophole” in current regulations.
Armstrong, seen by banks as their main adversary in this dispute, met with Trump at the White House shortly before the president’s social media post Tuesday, according to a person with knowledge of the meeting. That detail was reported earlier by Politico.
Both banks and crypto firms have reasons to support passage of the Clarity Act, but it’s unclear whether that will happen, given the disagreement. Earlier this year, Trump attempted to pressure banks to cap credit card interest rates, but the industry had enough support among both Republicans and Democrats to ward off that threat.
Tensions between Armstrong and banking CEOs have climbed since the Coinbase CEO publicly called out banks for their opposition to stablecoin yields.
In January, Dimon reportedly told Armstrong he was “full of s–t” during a chance interaction at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Business
Reeves to stress commitment to end windfall tax in talks with North Sea bosses
Rachel Reeves will reaffirm her commitment to “end” the windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas as she meets energy bosses.
The Chancellor is set to discuss the gas and oil prices sent soaring by the Middle East war in talks with firms including BP, TotalEnergies and Serica.
Ms Reeves came under pressure ahead of the Downing Street talks from Scottish First Minister John Swinney to axe the charge, which is officially known as the energy profits levy.
Introduced by the Tory government in the wake of the war in Ukraine – which sparked a sharp rise in energy prices – the charge was brought in to claw back some of these unexpected profits for the Treasury.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman told reporters: “The Chancellor will convene a meeting with industry leaders from oil and gas firms today… including BP, TotalEnergies and Serica.
“And they’ll discuss the ongoing volatility in the oil and gas prices due to the conflict in the Middle East.
“The Chancellor will make clear that she remains committed to end the energy profits levy and replace it with a more permanent and predictable regime.
“She’ll be reaffirming her commitment to support jobs and investment in the industry and look at ways to protect everyday people from the downstream impact of these costs.”
Earlier, Mr Swinney again insisted it was “utterly essential” that the UK Government scrapped the windfall tax, which he said was impacting upon investment in the North Sea and costing jobs.
He said the current “uncertainty over energy supplies” as a result of the conflict in the Middle East was now a “material consideration” for the scrapping of the charge – which is officially known as the energy profits levy.
Speaking during a visit to Inverness, Mr Swinney said he had hoped the Chancellor would use Tuesday’s spring statement to axe it.
When that did not happen, Holyrood’s Finance Secretary Shona Robison said Ms Reeves must use Wednesday’s meeting with North Sea industry leaders to “announce an end to this tax on Scotland’s energy”.
Mr Swinney meanwhile insisted: “Now that we have the conflict in the Middle East I think it is utterly essential that the energy profits levy is removed.
“I had hoped it would be removed yesterday in the spring statement. It hasn’t been but the Chancellor is meeting the industry today.
“And I hope that results in the removal of the energy profits levy.”
Mr Swinney, speaking to the Press Association, added: “I’ve been saying to the UK Government for some time that the energy profits levy should be removed because it is hampering investment in the North Sea oil and gas sector, which is resulting in a loss of employment at a much faster rate than we anticipated.”
With the conflict in the Middle East leading to “uncertainty over energy supplies in the period to come” the First Minister said that was now a “material consideration in whether the energy profits levy should be maintained”.
He insisted however: “I don’t think there is a case for it and it should be removed.”
Business
Brewdog founder James Watt admits mistakes as hundreds lose jobs in sale
James Watt apologises to staff and investors after hundreds of jobs were lost with the sale of the brewer and pub chain.
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