Kati chief for bringing each organisation, individual into tax net

The business community calls for bringing into tax net each organisation and individual liable to pay taxes so that the number and rate of various duties could be slashed to affordable level.
This was stated by the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) Chairman, Mian Zahid Hussain in a meeting with the delegation of probationer Assistant Collectors of Customs, Excise and Sales Tax Departments who visited KATI office on Monday, adding that there were total 43 taxes; 23 Federal, 13 Provincial and 7 Local Government level taxes and duties.
Besides, they had to pay heavy bills of utilities and all that made their products in-competitive.
Members of KATI also attended the meeting and discussed their problems with the CBR officials and learnt about mode and standard of the training being imparted to them.
The trainee officials were led by Deputy Director Training, Central Board of Revenue, Abdul Majid Yousfani.
He maintained that with reduction in tax burden and cut in their cost of doing business the local industrialists would become competitive to others like China, and their turnover would increase that would push the volume of tax revenue for national exchequer. That would ultimately help economy of the country expand and flourish.
He further pointed out, for collection of these taxes, there were number of government agencies which, he maintained, through their repeated and unnecessary visits and checks trouble the industrialists and traders and influence their operations.
"There should be only one agency to collect these duties at each respective level," he emphasised.
He also called for drastic cut in the expenses meant for collecting the duties to make tax collection more productive.
The KATI Chief stressed complete reforms in the CBR within shortest possible time for promoting tax culture in the country.
"We industrialists and traders do want to pay all taxes but we need better taxes collection system and facilitating attitude of tax collectors," he remarked.
He assured CBR all support from KATI members regarding the collection of taxes and offered to provide feedback if required for designing their training programmes.
Senior Vice Chairman KATI, Yousaf Shaikh maintained that tax collectors attitude was not different to those also who pay all taxes honestly And regularly.
"There is full record with CBR that pay 100% but get discouraging response from the collectors," he remarked.
Deputy Director Training and Secretary Human Resources Co-ordination CBR Abdul Majid Yousfani agreed tax collector should adopt customer-manager approach and enhance their role in that regard.
He said besides giving training to tax collectors the CBR had planned to educate taxpayers so that a dependable and economic growth-oriented tax culture could emerge in the country.
Some members from delegation of probationer CBR officials also expressed their sentiments how they wanted to see CBR function.