All Pakistan Business Forum (APBF) has started consultations for final preparation of the federal budget proposals for 2016-17. This was announced in a meeting chaired by APBF President Ibrahim Qureshi to finalise the budget proposals. Promoting foreign direct investment (FDI), increasing the share of direct taxes in revenue and lowering the slab of indirect taxes would help achieve key economic targets set for the next fiscal year, he said.
All over the world the private sector plays a leading role as far as economic policy framework is concerned therefore the Forum has also been playing its role to bring the country out of economic mire through well-tailored budget proposals. The government and the private sector should be on the same page on minor and major economic issues so that they could be resolved amicably and without any further delay, he added.
APBF budget proposals will cover recommendations, including proposals to incentivize investors, broaden tax net through documentation of economy, simplify tax system and reorganise FBR and many industry specific proposals. APBF in its budget proposals will also suggest that the sales tax slab should immediately be curtailed in order to reduce inflationary pressures. APBF chief said that effort would be made to give government a set of suggestions that would help turn upcoming budget business friendly in true sense of the word.
Qureshi asked the FBR to utilise its abilities to overcome the economic challenges and consult private sector to remove hitches to speedy economic recovery. He said that APBF has evolved two-pronged strategy to prepare proposals for the upcoming budget. The executive committee members have been asked to submit sector-specific details about the problems being faced by their respective businesses while secondly a meeting of all the trade and industry associations has also been convened to get their final suggestions about the upcoming budget.
He said that after finalising these proposals, the APBF would submit them to the Finance Ministry so that these proposals could be incorporated in the upcoming budget document. It is to be noted that the Federal Board of Revenue has sought the budget proposals for the upcoming financial year 2016-2017 from its field officers as well as from other stakeholders, including the business community.