Levy of additional tax on mobile phone calls

I may kindly be permitted to avail your precious space to point out an amazing target of taxation applied in the budget 2021-22. The levy of tax on mobile telephone calls will be bound to adversely affect the flow of foreign investment in the country.

This is dual tax enforced on mobile telephone service in the federal budget of 2021-22 which is absolutely not permissible in law. The levy of 75 paisas tax on phone calls exceeding 5 minutes time duration will practically abolish the schemes and packages announced by mobile companies for users. This type of taxation is an abuse of human rights of mobile telephone users.

I urge mobile telephone service providers to avoid transferring the burden of new tax to be applied on telephone calls exceeding 5 minutes duration to the users but facilitate them in a manner that neither provider nor user would bear the burden of new taxation. The providers may give an 'alarming' call 20 seconds before the expiry of 5 minutes duration of call or disconnect the call 10 seconds prior to completion of time limit prescribed under the federal budget of 2021-22.

Mahfooz un Nabi Khan (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021