ICCI asks govt to rationalize tax rates

The Government must expedite the process of rationalizing the tax rates as business community has many expectations from the upcoming federal budget, the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) said Monday.
“The industrial sector in Pakistan is paying heavy rate of taxes in comparison to its counterparts in the region. Thus, Government needs to look beyond revenue generation and should ensure fairness of tax regime,” Yassar Sakhi Butt, President ICCI said in a statement.
He was of the view that a significant percentage of the economy remains undocumented and operates outside the net. Proper documentation of all segments of the economy is essential if the Government intended to broaden the tax base and reduce burden of already taxed, he maintained.
The ICCI President said that the business community in the country was working under the most challenging environment and confronted the several issues like regulatory over-burden, energy shortage and high cost of doing business. Therefore, Government should provide relief to industrial sector and business community of the country by rationalizing the tax rates, he added.
Yassar Sakhi Butt underlined the need of drastic and innovative steps to bring sectors of the economy into the tax-net which were currently not being taxed and rendering a permanent revenue shortfall in the National Exchanger.
ICCI President also stressed upon the Government to bring down the rate of turnover tax in the upcoming federal budget. He said that it is need of the hour upcoming budget should be prepared with the careful consideration of proposals from the Chambers and private business entities as National Budget is the most important policy document that should be rightly devised and growth oriented.
He said that Government should extend full support to the business community and it should take the business community as a partner in the national development as both should work together for the betterment of the common man and the greater welfare of the society.