Sindh Finance Minister Murad Ali Shah on Monday visited the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) and held a meeting with the Board of Directors of the exchange. The minister was greeted by Chairman KSE Muneer Kamal and Managing Director Nadeem Naqvi. Senior members of KSE including Aqeel Karim Dhedhi, Arif Habib, Ferozuddin Qassim and Yasin Lakhani were also present on the occasion.
During the meeting, different issues were discussed, where the minister highlighted the change in tax regime related to sales tax being shifted from federal government to the provinces. He said that the existing FED would be substituted by provincial sales tax at the same rate. He dispelled the notion that there would be any double taxation in this context.
The minister was accompanied by Naveed Kamran Baloch, Secretary Finance Sindh, Bilal Ahmed Sheikh, President of Sindh Bank and Mumtaz Sheikh, Member Sindh Revenue Board, who outlined the change in methodology of collection once certain issues were clarified at the federal level in a few days.
The minister emphasised that the Sindh government did not want to impose any additional burden on taxpayers. He added that the government wanted to simplify the collection methodology, so that the taxpayers would not face any disruption at their end. A Provincial Capital Market Tax Working Committee was also constituted during the meeting comprising members from KSE and the finance division of Sindh government to look at the specific details with an overall vision of taxpayer facilitation, while striving for payment efficiency.-PR