HYDERABAD: President Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry Adeel Siddiqui has strongly reacted to federal government’s decision to impose supertax on 13 industries and said it would mark the end of foreign investment in the country.
He urged federal finance minister to consult stakeholders of the country immediately for Rs 498bn tax recovery target by imposing 10pc supertax so that a policy could be framed on it. He said that this 10pc supertax could be recovered with policy measures. He added that cost of production could increase and this burden of price hike would be passed on to consumers ultimately.
He said that this 10pc super tax could be recovered with policy measures. He added that cost of production could increase and this burden of price hike would be passed on to consumers ultimately. He said government had already claimed 11.5pc inflation and with 10pc super tax imposition would take price-hike to 20pc easily.
He was speaking to members of business community here on Monday. He said that Pakistan government had fixed GDP growth rate at 5pc in 2022-23 budget but it would be difficult to achieve this target with imposition of super tax because it includes 10pc additional tax. He said that investment would be badly hit with this initiative. Investment, he said, was sine qua non for growth in the country’s economy. He said Pakistan was producing expensive electricity and interest rate remained on higher side and these things don’t favour economy in any manner.
He said that due to recent initiatives of government Karachi Stock Market had crashed. He said that Pakistan was exporting fertilizer and cement in larger quantities currently and exports help economy grow. He said that these tax measures would hamper expansion in the country’s industrial base.
He wondered how would Pakistan progress and how investors would be attracted. He said that this would undermine everything. He maintained that if exports declined due to these measures then trade deficit would increase and eventually Pakistan rupee would lose value even further. He said that if economic keeps growing through industrialists friendly measures more taxes would be recovered but such measures would force foreign investors to leave Pakistan.
He emphasized the need for promoting trade and industry instead of imposing supertax on industries. He said that this step would destroy economy. He was critical of the fact that government had reversed its decision of increased tax ceiling from Rs0.6m to 1.2m for salaried class under pressure of International Monetary Fund (IMF). He said it had again been fixed at Rs0.6m.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022