The Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) has prepared draft proposals for budget-2016-17 while the national level pre-budget seminar will be held during next month which will be attended by high government officials, renowned economists and office-bearers of the chambers of commerce and industry.
Addressing the briefing on draft budget proposals, FCCI President Chaudahry Muhammad Nawaz appreciated the efforts of FCCI Advisor on Accounts Hamid Masood, and said this chamber was preparing budget proposals for the last many years which were presented to the Federal Board of Revenue for including in the federal budget. He said it was very encouraging that most of their proposals were discussed at the highest level and many of these were incorporated in the federal budget. He further said that the FCCI had been making painstaking efforts to prepare the budget proposals. In this connection, the proposals are invited from all sectors of the economy and various trade associations affiliated with this chamber.
He said FCA Hamid Masood had been working closely on preparing of budget proposals by the FCCI which was reflective of his keen interest in this national task. Senior Vice President Syed Zia also lauded the efforts of Hamid Masood and said that earlier the FCCI had also compiled 167 pages draft of Companies Draft Bill 2016. He said the FCCI was the only chamber in Pakistan which had played its role in the preparation of this draft document and their efforts were appreciated and acknowledged in the concerned circles in Islamabad.
Earlier, Hamid Masood while giving briefing on the budget proposals said that the government should tax all the sectors without any exemption. Similarly, in order to enhance the revenue, the government should enhance the enforcement capacity of FBR field staff. “At present, there is no reliable system for the evaluation of FBR officials and hence performance and integrity of the FBR staff should be carried out on regular basis.”
He further informed that tax payers were facing multiple problems while filing their returns on e-portal of the FBR. Hence, they should be given access to the FBR portal for verification of taxes paid by them through e-portal, he suggested.
Regarding policy matters, he said income tax rate for corporate sector was highest in the world. “At present it is 32 per cent which should be reduced to a reasonable level,” he suggested. He told that earlier alternative dispute resolution committees (ADRCs) were constituted to settle disputes between tax payers and tax collectors but they became redundant. Such committees should be made functional, he demanded.
He also pointed out some discrepancies in voluntary tax compliance (VTC) scheme and said that circulars had been issued to temporarily solve these problems. He proposed a constitutional cover for these measures in the next budget. He further told that rate of GST was currently 17 per cent which should be brought down to 10 per cent.
The meeting was also attended by Khawaja Shahid Razak Sikka, Mehmood Alam Jatt, Chaudhary Muhammad Asghar, Rao Sikandar Azam Khan, Ahmed Hassan and others.
