KARACHI: The Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, the President of the Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, the President of All Karachi Industrial Alliance, the Chairman of the FPCCI Advisory Board, Mian Zahid Hussain has said that many people earn money in Pakistan and transfer a large part of it outside the country due to people’s distrust of their country and political stability.
Many people in the economy do not pay taxes, and tax incentives are also rising. In addition, many individuals and companies are transferring their capital and business abroad, reducing revenue.
He said that the biggest challenge among the country’s problems is the foreign debt burden. This burden continuously increases due to the decrease in tax revenue due to the country’s culture of not paying taxes. He said that the volume of foreign debt has exceeded Rs 33,000 billion.
In contrast, Pakistan’s total debt has reached Rs 88,000 billion, including government, non-government, IMF, and inter-company loans.
Mian Zahid said obtaining a reasonable debt is necessary for the country’s development. At the same time, it is difficult for the government to move forward without eliminating unnecessary debts.
He said the country’s population is increasing by two percent. The government provides the growing population with hospitals, roads, schools, electricity, and gas facilities.
He said that the government must collect taxes to relieve the masses because the government has to take domestic and foreign loans due to decreased tax collection. As long as the series of unnecessary tax incentives continues, the debts will continue to increase.
He said that it is necessary to accelerate economic reforms and improve the tax system. Until the business environment in the country improves, there will be no investment, the economy will not develop, and people will not get employment. He said that the government is reducing expenses by billions of rupees by doing the correct sizing. However, the privatization process is slow.
The public and industry, including salaried employees and the service sector, bear the entire revenue burden. In contrast, many sectors, including retail, wholesale, agriculture, SMEs, and transport, are not ready to fulfil their responsibility.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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