Pakistan Industrial and Traders Association Front (PIAF) has welcomed federal finance minister's gesture of a tax free budget and putting off imposition of Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST), terming it a good omen for the business community. Chairman PIAF Sohail Lashari, in a statement on Monday said that finance minister's intimation would encourage people to come into the tax net.
He said concrete measures should be taken to end the menace of corruption and tax rate should be reduced that would help FBR to meet their tax collection targets. He said that business community is quite conscious of their national obligations and wants to pay tax but discretionary powers of tax officials, unbearable tax burden and corruption is discouraging people to come into the tax net.
Lashari observed that all leading economies are giving incentives to expedite economic activities in their respective countries, but in Pakistan, people sitting at the helm of affairs are doing the otherwise. This is being done at a time when almost industrial sector is facing challenges such as high input cost, deteriorating law and order situation, and massive electricity and gas load-shedding.
He observed that government's dependence on IMF loans under strict conditions is one of the biggest reasons of over-burdening direct and indirect taxes. Government should utilise all available resources to get rid of dependence on external loans, he asserted. He also urged the government to reduce its expenditures to promote an austerity culture in the country.
Chairman PIAF said that public sector enterprises including Pakistan Railways, PIA and Pakistan Steel Mills are 'eating up rupees 300 billion annually', but no measure so far been taken to control this damage. He pointed out that Indian Railway is the second largest profit making institution of India while Pakistan Railways faced deficit of Rs 20 billion in the last financial year. He said that government should initiate a process of reforms in these enterprises so that the much-needed money could be utilised for the betterment of economy.
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