- FPCCI president says four million taxpayers are required for sustainable growth
The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Sunday said that the government’s economic direction is good which will result in rapid progress.
“The tax net should be widened and investment boosted to provide jobs to 1.5 million youth entering the job market each year,” said FPCCI President Abdul Rauf Alam.
He said that the tax-to-GDP ratio is highly dissatisfactory and that government has tried to broaden the tax net in the budget resulting in reservations by certain quarters which are being tackled.
President FPCCI Abdul Rauf Alam said this in a joint statement with UBG Secretary General Zubair Tufail after meeting the Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Revenue Haroon Akhtar Khan.
They said that Haroon Akhtar has patience and a sympathetic ear which has infused confidence in the business community.
Abdul Rauf Alam and Zubair Tufail said that the economic direction of the government is good while the tax policy will result in industrialisation in the country which will contain unemployment.
They called upon investors to get benefit of the tax breaks announced in the budget to invest in the industrial sector.
The business leaders said that apart from widening the tax net and increasing exports, growth rate should also be above seven per cent while annual investment should surpass $20 billion to create jobs for the youth and to ensure sustainable growth.
Presently, only one million people file returns, a number which should be increased to four million to help the country stand on a solid foundation and regional trade should also be promoted, they demanded.
