Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that the city of Karachi was paying highest taxes to the federal government.

The small traders of Karachi are contributing Rs 36 billion tax to the Center as compared to small traders of Lahore, the second largest city of the country, who pay Rs 700 million.

This, he said, on Saturday while speaking at launching ceremony of Urban spaces being revitalized to Arts Council of Pakistan which will facilitate emergent city needs by giving a platform for social integration of artists, intellects, students particularly youth and women, focusing on "fast, low cost & high impact" interventions here at Karachi Arts Council.

The programme was attended by Home Secretary and PD KNIP, Qazi Kabir, President Arts Council Ahmed Shah, Team KNIP, senior officers of the Sindh government, representative of the World Bank, citizens of Karachi, artists, Karaci-based leading businessmen and industrialists of the country and the media personnel.

Addressing the businessmen and industrialists, the chief minister said in a lightly mood that he was happy that after politicians they were being branded as `thieves'. "This gives me immense pleasure that you have been brought in our ranks and the day is not far off when every citizen of this country would be branded as thief," he said.

Shah taunting [Federal government] said that the businessmen of the city were not giving taxes. "Had you [businessmen] paid the taxes, the provincial government would have been given more funds by the federal government to develop this city further," he said.

The chief minister said that he was thankful to the World Bank that it was assisting it to launch development works in the province. "At present around $2.5 billion development works are in progress in the city and one of them is Yellow Line BRT which wil be started very soon," he disclosed.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019