Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders on Wednesday criticised the policy of slapping additional taxes on profitable sectors.
The government should remember that there were 1.6 million filers in 2006, but now the number has dropped to one million due to such policies, it said.
Authorities should reduce reliance on indirect taxes and prefer direct taxation which is going down, said Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders Patron Shahid Rasheed Butt.
He said that exports have reduced by 14 per cent, while agriculture has dwindled to the level of 2009 whereas foreign direct investment has remained one billion dollar.
He said that overreliance on loans has stabilised foreign exchange reserves, but it has also pushed debt servicing cost to Rs 1803 billion which is a matter of grave concern.
Butt said that the good performing sectors include telecom, services, banking, cement and construction sectors and they have been punished through additional taxation, while super tax has resulted in reservations discouraging investors.
He said that stock market situation is satisfactory, but it should be properly regulated so that local and foreign investors can invest without any fear.
